WASHINGTON 

US President Donald Trump welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Thursday.

The leaders will hold a bilateral Oval Office meeting followed by a working lunch.

They are expected to discuss bilateral ties, including in trade, investment and the defense industry along with regional issues.

Their meeting comes at a critical moment as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate amid Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and mounting international pressure for a diplomatic resolution to the Palestinian issue.

"I believe our meeting with President Trump will contribute to ending wars and conflicts in our region within the framework of our shared vision of global peace and will further strengthen the cooperation between our countries," Erdogan said previously.

Erdogan was in New York to attend this year's session of the UN General Assembly and arrived Wednesday in the nation's capital, where he stayed at Blair House, the US president’s official guest residence.

During his stay in New York, he took part in a reception Tuesday hosted by Trump and first lady Melania Trump in honor of heads of state and their spouses.

Separately, Erdogan, together with Trump, on Tuesday attended a multilateral meeting on Gaza on the sidelines of the General Assembly.