President Trump warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday about purchasing Russian oil and suggested he may lift a ban on the sale of U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.
Speaking with Mr. Erdogan in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump pressed the Turkish president to stop buying Russian oil, which funds Russia’s war machine in Ukraine. The demand follows Mr. Trump’s remarks at the United Nations General Assembly this week, where he called out European leaders who condemn the war in Ukraine while their energy purchases help fund the Russian war machine.
“I’d like to have him stop buying oil from Russia while Russia continues its rampage against Ukraine,” Mr. Trump said, adding that Russia is killing many people “unnecessarily.”
Asked if Mr. Erdogan could play a role in resolving Russia’s war in Ukraine, Mr. Trump doubled down on his earlier demand.
“The best thing he could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia. If he did that, that would be probably the best thing,” Mr. Trump said.
The two leaders recently spoke at the United Nations General Assembly in New York earlier this week. Before that, they last met in 2019 during Mr. Trump’s first term, where the two discussed Kurdish forces in Syria and Turkey’s purchases of Russian S-400 missile defenses.
The U.S. also kicked Turkey, a NATO ally, out of the F-35 fighter jet program. Sanctions were also placed on Turkey over its military offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria.
However, Mr. Trump hinted Thursday that the ban on purchasing U.S. military planes could soon be lifted.
“I think he’ll be successful with buying the things he’d like to buy,” Mr. Trump said.
The president said last week that Turkey’s ban may soon come to an end, and that the two leaders “have always had a very good relationship.”
“We are working on many Trade and Military Deals with the President, including the large scale purchase of Boeing aircraft, a major F-16 Deal, and a continuation of the F-35 talks, which we expect to conclude positively,” Mr. Trump wrote in a social media post.
The Turkish president has signaled that he’s eager to get back into the F-35 program, telling Fox News that, “I think the F-35s will be delivered to Turkey step-by-step during his term.”
“I think it will improve greatly, especially when you look at the defense industry at the top, that will come at the top. At the same time, on industry and technology, Turkey and the United States will improve their relations,” he said. “I will talk about all these things with Mr. Trump and it will be a different return to Turkey after that.”
The meeting was being celebrated as a success in Turkey, even before it started.
Mr. Erdogan said last week that he thinks the meeting with Mr. Trump “will contribute to the cessation of wars and conflicts in our region within the framework of our common global peace vision and will further strengthen the cooperation between our countries.”
He has separated himself from American policy, and has been a fierce critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s treatment of Gaza.
“This is completely a genocide. And this genocide is caused by Netanyahu. Netanyahu mercilessly has, unfortunately, killed tens of thousands with this genocide,” Mr. Erdogan said on Fox News earlier this week.
There are also deals in the works for Turkey to purchase hundreds of Boeing aircraft and fighter jets.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.