WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday (Sep 25) that the United States could lift sanctions on Türkiye and allow it to buy F-35 fighter jets, but pressed Ankara to end its purchases of Russian oil during talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan’s first White House visit in six years began with a warm welcome from Trump, who praised him as a “very tough man” and said the two remained “friends”. The meeting underscored Ankara’s hopes of leveraging a closer personal relationship to advance trade and defence deals.
“I’d like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage against Ukraine,” Trump told reporters. Asked about the F-35s, he said: “I think he’ll be successful in buying the things that he wants to buy.”
Trump also signalled that sanctions on Türkiye could be lifted “very soon” if the meeting went well.
SHIFT FROM BIDEN ERA
Türkiye’s ties with Washington cooled under Joe Biden, who had kept Erdogan at arm’s length over Ankara’s close links to Moscow. Since Trump’s return, both leaders have aligned on Syria, though they remain at odds over Israel’s actions in Gaza, which Türkiye calls genocide.
Ankara hopes the shift in tone will ease sanctions imposed in 2020 over Türkiye’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defences, which barred it from the F-35 programme. Erdogan said defence cooperation, including talks over 40 F-16s, was a priority alongside energy and trade.
