US President Donald Trump held talks with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the White House on Thursday and signalled that Washington might soon lift its hold on sales of advanced fighter jets to Ankara.
During Trump’s first term, the US removed Turkey from its flagship F-35 fighter jet programme after Turkey, a NATO ally, purchased an air defence system from Russia.
US officials worried that Turkey’s use of the S-400 surface-to-air missile system could be used to gather data on the capabilities of the F-35 and that the information could end up in Russian hands.
Trump started his two-hour meeting with Erdoğan by offering hope that a resolution to the matter could be found during the leaders’ talks.
“He needs certain things, and we need certain things, and we’re going to come to a conclusion. You’ll know by the end of the day,” Trump said.
The president added to Erdoğan, “And I think you’ll be successful with buying the things” you would “like to buy.”
The president, in a brief exchange with reporters as he bid farewell to Erdoğan, called it a “good meeting” but did not offer further details.
It was Erdoğan’s first trip to the White House since 2019. They forged what Trump described as a “very good relationship” during his first White House term.
Over the years, US officials have cited concerns about Turkey’s human rights record under Erdoğan and the country’s ties with Russia.
Tensions between Turkey and Israel, another important American ally, over Gaza and Syria have made relations difficult with Turkey at times.
In remarks to reporters, Trump focused his concerns on Turkey’s continued economic relationship with Russia.
Turkey has been one of the biggest buyers of Russian fossil fuel since the European Union announced in early 2023 it would boycott most Russian seaborne oil.
Since January 2023, Ankara has purchased more than $90 billion (€77 billion) in Russian oil, coal and natural gas. Only China and India have bought more from Russia in that period.
“The best thing he could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia,” Trump said of Erdoğan.
Trump added that Erdoğan is respected by both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I think he could have a big influence if he wants to,” Trump said.
The push on Erdoğan to become more engaged in pressuring Putin comes after Trump earlier this week said he believed Ukraine could win back all the territory it has lost to Russia in the war.
It was a dramatic shift from Trump’s repeated calls for Kyiv to make territorial concessions to end the fighting.
Erdoğan has made clear he is eager to see the suspension on F-35s lifted, telling Trump that he came prepared to “thoroughly discuss” the issue.
The Turkish president was even blunter in a television interview this week.
“I don’t think it’s very becoming of strategic partnership and I don’t think it’s the right way to go,” he said in an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report with Bret Baier.”
Past reluctance to engage with Turkey
Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration kept Erdoğan, who has served as president since 2014 and was prime minister for more than a decade before that, at an arm’s length during Biden’s four years in office.
The reluctance to engage deeply was borne out of Turkey’s record of democratic backsliding as well as Ankara’s close ties to Moscow.
Opposition parties and human rights organisations have accused Erdoğan of undermining democracy and curbing freedom of expression during his more than two decades in power.
International observers say that baseless investigations and prosecutions of human rights activists, journalists, opposition politicians and others remain a persistent problem in Turkey.
Trump sees Erdoğan as a critical partner and credible intermediary in his effort to find ends to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
The Republican’s administration is also largely in sync with Turkey’s approach to Syria as both nations piece together their posture toward the once isolated country after the fall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December.
Trump and European leaders have followed Erdoğan in embracing Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who once commanded a rebel group that was designated a foreign terrorist organisation.
Trump also said that Erdoğan deserves credit for backing the rebel forces that ousted al-Assad from Syria.
“I think President Erdoğan is the one responsible for Syria, for the successful fight in ridding Syria of its past leader,” Trump said.
“He doesn’t take the responsibility, but it’s actually a great achievement.”