Turkish President Erdoğan to pay official visit to Britain next week

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit Britain and meet with Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday, as he campaigns ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next month.

The visit was already scheduled before the Turkish leader called the snap elections for June 24, bringing the polls forward by a year and a half.

"The prime minister is looking forward to welcoming President Erdoğan of Turkey to the UK for a visit on May 15," May's spokesman told reporters.

Erdoğan has drawn controversy for electioneering in Europe, where there are some three million Turks who are eligible to vote in Turkish elections.

The expatriate vote is generally a source of support for Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.

Erdoğan is due to hold a rally in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo to address expatriate Turks on May 20, after Austria and the Netherlands said they would ban any campaigning by Turkish politicians on their soil.

EU member states including Germany, the Netherlands and Austria banned such rallies in the campaign for last year's referendum on a new system enhancing the powers of the presidency.

Erdoğan denounced such moves as reminiscent of the Nazis, in a major outburst of tensions with Brussels.