Trump eyes Erdogan's help to end Ukraine war
US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone call on Monday that both leaders described as "very productive" and said they discussed everything from how to end Russia's war in Ukraine to Syria and the Gaza war.
In a social media post, Trump said the Turkish leader had invited him to Turkey "at a future date" and that he would also be coming to Washington, but did not say when. Erdogan, in a subsequent X post confirmed the mutual invite. "The phone call that I had today with my friend Donald Trump was very productive, comprehensive and sincere," Erdogan said.
The bilateral ties between Turkey and the United States had gradually soured over the past decade over disagreements on key policy issues including Syria and Ankara's closer ties with Moscow.
Under the administration of former President Joe Biden, who kept Erdogan at an arm's length, the nature of US-Turkey ties further evolved into a more transactional one from the values-based partnership that it traditionally had been since Ankara joined NATO decades ago.
With the arrival of Trump, Ankara is hoping for a friendlier Washington, even though it was the Republican president who imposed sanctions on Turkey in late 2020 over its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense systems.
Trump, who described as "excellent" his relationship with Erdogan during his first tenure at the White House, said the two countries would cooperate on ending the war in Ukraine. "I look forward to working with President Erdogan on getting the ridiculous but deadly, War between Russia and Ukraine ended -- NOW!," Trump said in his post.
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