USA-Turkey relations: Why Trump will likely leave Erdogan empty-handed - by Nil Köksal

The conversations so far have been cordial, diplomatic. There's so much on the line.

But just days before U.S. President Donald Trump was set to meet Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House, Washington delivered a welcome basket loaded with a land mine.

Actual weapons and who gets them are the issue. Knowing that one of Turkey's biggest demands of the U.S. is not to arm certain Kurdish fighters in Syria, the White House announced last week it would be doing just that.

• U.S. to arm Kurdish fighters in Syria
• Rex Tillerson, Turkish leaders struggle to resolve Kurdish dispute

The decision dropped just as a high-level delegation, including the head of Turkey's Armed Forces, the intelligence service and Erdogan's chief adviser, was in Washington for meetings ahead of the main event Tuesday.

"It will be a tough meeting," said Prof. Huseyin Bagci of Middle East Technical University in Ankara.

Read more: Why Trump will likely leave Erdogan empty-handed - World - CBC News