"Warm messages, tense bargaining", the Turkish newspaper "Hurriyet" wrote in a headline on its website today regarding yesterday's meeting at the White House between US President Donald Trump and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, BTA reports.
Gaza, Syria, the war in Ukraine and the purchase of F-35 and F-16 aircraft from Turkey were part of the topics on the agenda of the conversation. The conversation, which Trump described to journalists as "wonderful", lasted two hours and 15 minutes, the newspaper indicates.
Trump stated that he has "great respect" for Erdogan and that the two have long had good relations si.
"President Erdogan and I have been friends for a long time. A very respected man, both in his country and in Europe and the whole world", Trump said, adding that Erdogan is "very tough and does good things in his country".
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Trump pointed out that President Erdogan "likes to be neutral" and is respected by both sides in the conflict.
"The only thing he can do right now is not buy oil from Russia", the American president added, quoted by "Hürriyet". He admitted that he was wrong in his assessment that he could easily end the war in Ukraine, but according to him, if he had been president at the time, the war would not have started.
"Historic Summit" - this is how the headline describes last night's conversation in. "Sabah". The newspaper highlights the following from Trump's statement:
- Erdogan is a very respected person
- Sanctions under the CAATSA law may be lifted
- Syria is a victory for Erdogan
- We are close to an agreement on Gaza
- We will succeed on the F-35 issue.
In his statement before the meeting, President Erdogan stated that Turkey and the United States "are going through a different phase in their relations", "Sabah" also writes.
"Together we will overcome the difficulties in the region", the Turkish leader said.
At the same time, the US President noted that the two countries could reach an agreement on the F-35 fighter jets and that the US sanctions on the Turkish defense sector, imposed under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), may be lifted.
During Trump's first term, the US excluded Turkey, a NATO member, from its fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet program after Ankara bought an air defense system from Russia. The deal sparked a crisis in US-Turkey defense relations and prompted Washington to impose sanctions under the CAATSA law on Turkey.
Regarding Syria, Trump said: "Erdogan is responsible for the victory in Syria. It was a victory for Turkey," Sabah also wrote.
"We had a great meeting with President Erdogan today. I think we had a very productive discussion on a wide range of issues, which was very positive," Trump was quoted as saying after the conversation in "Cumhuriyet".
"When you hear what happened today with Erdogan, you will be really impressed. I think it is a great thing for both countries", the US leader also said.
In response to a question about the F-35, Trump said: "We can easily reach an agreement with Turkey on the F-35, but first President Erdogan will have to do some things for us", "Cumhuriyet" also writes.
The publication also quotes Trump's words after the conversation that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank: "I spoke to him (Netanyahu), I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. That's enough. It's time to stop".
"A critically important meeting that broke the ice" - this is how the "Türkiye" newspaper defined yesterday's conversation, reminding that the two leaders met at the White House for the first time in six years since.
"Together we will overcome the problems", reads the headline on the topic of the "Yeni Şafak" newspaper.