Mr. Zickel said he had not yet concluded that the hotel's problems were related to the construction.
The merger could be announced as soon as Thursday morning, the people briefed on the matter said, cautioning that talks had not yet concluded and might still collapse.
In April, an Ohio appellate court ruled that an N.C.A.A. appeal of the order was premature because the case had not yet concluded.
The measured wording of the announcement suggested that Turkey had not yet concluded that the Syrian action was provocative, and it acknowledged that Syrian rescue teams were cooperating in trying to locate the aircraft and crew.
Earnest insisted that a review into the delivery of aid to Egypt had not yet concluded, and said it was "inaccurate to suggest that we've cut off aid to Egypt".
The 15-member European Union had been the largest of six remaining trade organization members that had not yet concluded the separate market-access agreements necessary for Beijing's membership.
