Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is seeking a meeting with Kamala Harris in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly next week, in an early effort to sustain a recent improvement in ties with the US, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Turkey’s leader is awaiting a response from the Democratic nominee for president, who’s expected to be in New York for a fundraising event on Sunday, according to people familiar with the matter. Erdoğan is also open to meeting with vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz, the people told Bloomberg.
Erdoğan’s office and the Turkish foreign ministry declined Bloomberg’s requests for comment while the White House didn’t respond.
Turkey and the US are in talks to improve ties from defense to energy following Ankara’s ratification of Sweden’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization earlier this year. The longtime allies remain divided over Turkey’s acquisition of Russian air defenses and US sanctions that targeted its defense industry over the purchase, as well as Syria and Israel.