TURKEY: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Turkey on March 30, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said late Thursday, with meetings of the countries presidents also in the pipeline.
"The US state secretary said he wanted to come on March 30 and I told him that this would suit us in Ankara. If our prime minister is in Ankara, he will meet him," Cavusoglu told HaberTurk broadcaster in an interview.
He also said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would meet US President Donald Trump after a referendum in Turkey next month and would meet Tillerson if possible.
It would be the most senior visit by a senior official from the new administration as Ankara hopes to have better relations with the Trump White House.
Turkey will vote on April 16 on whether to approve constitutional changes that would create an executive presidency boosting Erdogan's powers.
The government insists it would be a system like that of France or the US but critics fear it will lead to one-man rule.
CIA chief Mike Pompeo came to Ankara last month in his first foreign visit after Trump's inauguration in January.
Turkey has greater hopes for Ankara-Washington ties after the relationship with Barack Obama was marked by disappointment and anger, especially over Syria.