Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accepted an invitation from President Trump to visit the White House next month, Reuters reports.
Driving the news: Erdoğan accepted the invitation during a call with Trump in which the Turkish president expressed dissatisfaction over the U.S military's apparent failure to implement a safe zone agreement in northeast Syria. Erdogan wants the safe zone to be established to eliminate threats from the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which is supported by the U.S. but considered a terrorist organization by Turkey.
The big picture: Trump has been criticized in the past for his warm relations with strongmen like Erdoğan, who has consolidated power and cracked down on the media and political dissenters over the past few years. Other authoritarian-minded leaders to visit the White House include Hungary's Viktor Orbán, Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Flashback: During Erdoğan's last visit to the White House in 2017, Turkish security personnel attacked Kurdish protestors in Washington. Fifteen of the bodyguards were indicted, but charges were later dropped in March 2018 ahead of a meeting between Erdoğan and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Go deeper: Safe zone in northern Syria depends on U.S.-Turkey balancing act