Photo: Murat Kaynak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Sky News Wednesday that he will not meet with Vice President Mike Pence, who is currently leading a delegation with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Turkey to discuss a ceasefire in northern Syria.
Behind the scenes: Trump has gloated to advisers that he broke Erdoğan during the Brunson negotiations — that he hit Turkey “so hard” with sanctions and drove its economy down.
And Trump has doubled down and defended his decision to withdraw the U.S. from northern Syria on the grounds of ending “endless wars.” In other words, he’s trying to sanction the cat after he let it out of the bag.
What’s next: Erdoğan and Trump are set to meet in D.C. next month, but Erdoğan told reporters that he is still weighing the visit because he feels the “arguments, debates, conversations being held in Congress regarding my person, my family and my minister friends are a very big disrespect,” per Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also extended an invitation to Erdoğan to visit in the next few days, reports Reuters.
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