Meeting Erdogan, Trump suggests he may lift sanctions on Turkey, presses on Russian oil

US President Donald Trump welcomes Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan astatine the White House successful Washington connected Thursday. [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

President Donald Trump suggested the US could assistance sanctions connected Turkey and let it to bargain US F-35 jets arsenic helium kicked disconnected talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan connected Thursday, but said helium wanted Ankara to stop purchases of Russian oil.

Erdogan’s archetypal visit to the White House successful astir six years started disconnected with a warm welcome from Trump. Seated broadside by broadside successful the Oval Office, Trump called Erdogan a “very tough man” and said they remained “friends” while his predecessor Joe Biden was successful office.

Ankara is keen to leverage the affable idiosyncratic narration to further nationalist interests and take vantage of a US medication anxious to marque deals successful instrumentality for big-ticket arms and trade agreements.

Still, Trump pressed Erdogan to chopped disconnected lipid purchases from Russia, arsenic helium tries to enactment unit connected Russia’s sources for backing its war successful Ukraine. Turkey, Hungary and Slovakia are the main European purchasers of Russian oil.

“I’d similar to person him stop buying immoderate lipid from Russia while Russia continues this rampage against Ukraine,” Trump said of Erdogan.

Asked whether helium was willing to marque a woody to merchantability F-35s to Turkey, Trump told reporters: “I think he’ll beryllium successful successful buying the things that helium wants to buy.” Trump besides said helium could assistance sanctions against Turkey “very soon,” and that “if we person a bully meeting, astir immediately.”

Ankara hoping for person ties under Trump 

Biden had kept Turkey astatine arm’s magnitude partially implicit what it saw arsenic the chap NATO member’s adjacent ties with Russia. Under Trump, who views Moscow much favorably and has person idiosyncratic ties with Erdogan, Ankara is hoping for a amended relationship.

Trump and Erdogan – some seen arsenic progressively autocratic by their critics astatine location – had a checkered narration during the Republican president’s archetypal term. But since his instrumentality to the White House, their interests person aligned connected Syria – source of the biggest bilateral strain successful the past – where the US and Turkey present some strongly backmost the cardinal government.

They stay sharply astatine likelihood implicit US state Israel’s attacks connected Gaza, which Ankara calls a genocide – a imaginable wild paper successful what are different expected to beryllium affable and transactional talks successful the Oval Office.

US sanctions artifact F-35 sales

The temper displacement has renewed Turkish hopes that Trump and Erdogan, who person exchanged communal praise, tin find a way astir US sanctions imposed by Trump himself successful 2020 implicit Turkey’s acquisition of Russian S-400 rocket defenses.

That, successful turn, could pave the way for Ankara to bargain Lockheed Martin’s precocious F-35 combatant jets, for which it was some a purchaser and shaper until it was barred implicit the S-400s.

Erdogan has said the defence industry, including the topic of F-35s and ongoing negotiations implicit 40 F-16 jets Ankara besides wants, would beryllium a absorption of the meeting, on with determination wars, vigor and trade.

Turkey, NATO’s second-largest army, wants to ramp up aerial powerfulness to antagonistic what it sees arsenic increasing threats successful the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, where it neighbors Russia and Ukraine.

Erdogan told reporters that helium was “ready to bash whatever is needed from us” to reopen an Orthodox Christian seminary that was unopen by the Turkish state successful 1971 and has remained a source of contention with Greece and the European Union ever since.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual caput of Orthodox Christians worldwide based successful Istanbul, besides met with Trump successful Washington this period and was quoted arsenic saying helium hopes the Theological School of Halki tin judge students adjacent year.

Turkey, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, has successful the past resisted reopening the seminary adjacent Istanbul contempt years of unit from the European Union, which it aspires to join.

Erdogan said helium would sermon the contented with Bartholomew when helium returns to Turkey. [Reuters]