(MENAFN- Gulf Times) President Donald Trump suggested the US could lift sanctions on Turkiye and allow it to buy US F-35 jets as he kicked off talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan yesterday, but said he wanted Ankara to stop purchases of Russian oil. Erdogan's first visit to the White House in about six years started off with a warm welcome from Trump. Seated side by side in the Oval Office, Trump called Erdogan a highly respected man. "He's respected very much in his country and all throughout Europe and throughout the world where they know him,” Trump said, gesturing to Erdogan.“It's an honour to have him.” Trump blade-->
Trump shakes hands with Erdogan as they meet in the Oval Office of the White House yesterday
They remained "friends" while his predecessor Joe Biden was in office. Ankara is keen to leverage the friendly personal relationship to further national interests and take advantage of a US administration eager to make deals in return for big-ticket arms and trade agreements. Asked whether he was willing to make a deal to sell F-35s to Turkiye, Trump told reporters: "I think he'll be successful in buying the things that he wants to buy." Trump also said he could lift sanctions against Turkiye "very soon," and that "if we have a good meeting, almost immediately." Under Trump, who has closer personal ties with Erdogan, Ankara is hoping for a better relationship. Trump and Erdogan remain sharply at odds over US ally Israel's attacks on Gaza, which Ankara calls a genocide. US sanctions were imposed by Trump himself in 2020 over Turkiye's acquisition of Russian S-400 missile defences.
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