ANKARA – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he and President Donald Trump had made “meaningful progress” on a range of regional and bilateral issues at their first meeting in the White House in six years, where they discussed defence co-operation and trade.
Trump told reporters after Thursday’s (Sept 25) meeting with Erdogan that he believed Nato member Turkey would agree to his request to stop purchasing Russian oil and said that he may lift US sanctions on Ankara so it can buy advanced American F-35 jets.
In comments to reporters on his flight home from Washington, Erdogan said the two leaders had exchanged views on steps to boost trade, including the revision of customs duties to achieve their target of $100 (S$129 billion) billion trade volume.
“It’s certainly impossible to resolve every issue in a single meeting. However, this meeting has led to meaningful progress on many issues,” Erdogan said, according to a transcript of his comments shared by his office on Friday.
Erdogan added that he had left the meeting with Trump “happy”.
The transcript made no direct mention of the US sanctions or of Turkey’s imports of Russian oil.
Erdogan also said he backed Trump’s “vision for global peace” and that they had reached an understanding on how to achieve a ceasefire and lasting peace in Gaza and Palestine.
The Turkish leader, a strong critic of Israel and its military campaign in Gaza, added that he had explained to Trump the need for a two-state solution in the Middle East to achieve regional peace.
“We explained how a ceasefire can be achieved in Gaza and the whole of Palestine, and lasting peace afterwards. An understanding was reached there,” he said, without elaborating.
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