Turkey Braces for Pope Visit; Prime Minister Changes Plans To Meet Pope
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VATICAN CITY (AP) – Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to meet Pope Benedict XVI in Turkey on Tuesday, in a change of plans that appeared to signal openness to a visit that has angered many Turks.
Mr. Erdogan originally said he could not meet the pope because he would be attending a NATO summit in Latvia. He will now meet the Pope at the airport when the pontiff arrives, then leave for Latvia, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Monday.
The Pope’s visit has been contested by some Turks angered by a speech he gave in September in which he quoted a medieval text that linked Islam to violence. Tens of thousands of Turks marched in Istanbul on Sunday to protest the visit, calling the Pope an enemy of Islam.
When the government originally announced that Mr, Erdogan would be out of the country, Italian media described it as a snub during the Pope’s first visit as a pope to a predominantly Muslim country. The Vatican rejected that, saying it was aware of the scheduling conflict.
Mr. Erdogan’s spokesman, Akif Beki, confirmed the meeting. News reports in Turkey said the meeting would last 20 minutes, but Mr. Beki said he did not know the duration.