US President Donald Trump has welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House with effusive praise, calling him “a highly respected man” admired in Türkiye, across Europe, and “throughout the world.”
The Oval Office meeting on Thursday, followed by a working lunch in the Cabinet Room, came at a sensitive moment for the NATO allies.
Trump said he and Erdogan would hold wide-ranging discussions on defence sales, including Türkiye’s potential purchase of US-made F-16 and F-35 fighter jets.
“They want to buy F-16s, F-35s, and some other things, and we’re going to talk to them about that,” Trump said. “We’re just going to have, I think, a very interesting couple of hours. We’re going to get a lot done.”
A ‘different process’ in relations
For his part, Erdogan reiterated his belief that relations with Washington were moving into a new phase under Trump’s leadership.
“We are experiencing a different process in Türkiye-America relations, during both the first and second term of Mr. Trump,” he said.
The US imposed sanctions on Türkiye’s defence sector in 2020 under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) after Ankara purchased Russian-made missile systems. Trump signalled that those penalties could soon be lifted.
“Could be very soon. If we have a good meeting, almost immediately,” Trump said when asked about the timeline for removing sanctions.
Quite productive
The meeting was "quite productive and successful," Türkiye's foreign minister said.
He added that Erdogan had been “one of the people responsible” for his decision to lift strong US sanctions on Syria earlier.
The meeting addressed the joint steps that Ankara and Washington will take in the upcoming period as two allies and friends, Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan wrote on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
Stressing that the focus was on areas of regional cooperation, Fidan added: "We will continue to work to strengthen our relationship with the US based on mutual respect and in line with our respective interests."
Trade and regional cooperation
Trump emphasised the importance of expanding trade ties, telling reporters: “We’re going to make some great trade deals for both countries.”
He also said he and Erdogan would have a “big” discussion covering regional conflicts, defence sales, and economic cooperation.
On foreign policy, Trump praised Erdogan’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war as “very neutral,” adding that the Turkish leader was respected by both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The leaders’ meeting, initially scheduled for 30 minutes, was expected to stretch into longer discussions, underscoring the weight of issues on the table.
