U.S. President Donald Trump hosted yesterday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the White House for talks. This was the first time in six years that Erdoğan has visited the White House. The atmosphere was markedly less tense that Erdoğan's previous visit in 2019 which followed a significant political fallout between the countries over the situation in Syria which is now a topic on which the two leaders are more aligned.
Trump dominated the conversation with the press. He told reporters that they would be talking about tariffs, a Ukraine ceasefire and that Erdoğan may be "successful" with regards the sale of F-35 and F-16 jets. Following the short comments in front of the reporters, Trump and Erdoğan left for their two hour private meeting which was later described by Trump as “Great” with a thumbs-up.
Days before Erdoğan's visit, Ankara announced that it had terminated retaliatory tariffs imposed in 2018 on US imports, in an effort to show good intentions before the meeting. Erdoğan is looking to secure a number of deals on varying issues ranging from defence to energy.
Erdoğan is especially interested in purchasing F-16 and F-35 fighter jets and more than 200 commercial planes. With regard the fighter jets, both Erdoğan and Trump had already highlighted as key agenda points Turkey's purchase of Lockheed Martin's F-16 fighter jets and its desire to overcome U.S. sanctions so it can buy advanced F-35 jets. Trump also told reporters, both before and after the meeting, that he might lift the sanctions, which Washington imposed in 2020, during Trump's first term, over Ankara's acquisition of Russian S-400 missile defences. The sanctions ousted Turkey from an F-35 programme in which it was a buyer and manufacturer, prompting Ankara to develop its own fighter jet and seek to procure alternatives such as the Eurofighter Typhoons. With regards the commercial planes, Turkish Airlines unveiled a long-awaited deal following the meeting for the order of 75 Boeing 787 planes and 150 737 MAX planes, subject to engine talks.
Erdoğan commented on the meeting to reporters during his return trip from Washington. He said that he and President Donald Trump had made "meaningful progress" on a range of regional and bilateral issues, and had discussed defence cooperation and trade. Erdoğan said they had exchanged views on steps to boost trade, including the revision of customs duties to achieve their USD 100 billion target, and added that he had left "happy" after the meeting. From a transcript shared by his office, Erdoğan said that "It's certainly impossible to resolve every issue in a single meeting. However, this meeting has led to meaningful progress on many issues." He however made no direct reference to Turkey's purchases of Russian oil or of U.S. fighter jets, which were a central part of the talks.
Indeed, Trump had told Erdoğan that he would like Turkey to stop buying Russian oil and said that he was "very disappointed" with Vladimir Putin. Following the talks, Trump said he believed Turkey, a NATO ally, would agree to his request to stop purchasing Russian oil. Turkey has in recent years diversified its energy supply channels, but has also opposed Western sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, saying it needs to balance ties with Moscow and Kyiv. The Kremlin, commenting on the Trump-Erdogan talks, said the following day that cooperation between Russia and Turkey was continuing. While Erdoğan’s transcript did not mention oil, Turkey's energy minister said the allies had signed a strategic civil nuclear cooperation memorandum of understanding.
The two leaders would also have discussed the situation in the Middle East, including the war in Gaza, and Erdoğan confirmed this after the meeting. He said that they had "reached an understanding" on how to achieve a ceasefire and lasting peace in Gaza and Palestine. Erdoğan also said he explained to Trump the need for a two-state solution in the Middle East for regional peace. Turkey is a vocal critic of Israel's offensive in Gaza, calling it a "genocide", and has urged countries including the U.S. to end their support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. This area would appear to be the only serious area of disagreement between the U.S. and Turkey, but would have been played down during the meeting. With regards Syria, the two countries are more likely to have shared a more common approach and understanding.
In summary, it would appear that Erdoğan did not succeed in achieving any of his objectives at the meeting. However, at this point, it must have been more essential for President Erdoğan that the relations between Turkey and the U.S. should be seen to be warm and closely aligned. Erdoğan will be looking in time to build on this relationship to push his own agenda forward.