ISTANBUL

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived late Friday in Istanbul to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Scholz and his delegation landed at the Istanbul Airport at 10.03 p.m. local time (1903GMT), where they were welcomed by Turkish Ambassador to Berlin Ahmet Basar Sen and other officials.

The leaders are scheduled to meet Saturday, followed by a news conference.

Discussions are expected to cover a range of topics, including the Ukraine war, developments in the Middle East, migration, EU-Türkiye relations, bilateral ties and economic policies.

The meeting follows an encounter in September at the 79th UN General Assembly in New York.

*Writing by Yasin Gungor