President Donald Trump mentioned on Thursday at the White House that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could potentially leverage his influence to persuade Russia to cease the war in Ukraine “if he wants to.” Trump made this statement while Erdogan was seated beside him.
“There’s a great deal of respect for Erdogan. People really respect him. I do as well. I believe he could make a significant impact if he decides to,” Trump answered when questioned about whether Erdogan might aid in bringing Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiation table.
“At the moment, he maintains a neutral stance. He enjoys being neutral, and so do I,” Trump elaborated. “However, if he were to step in, the most effective move would be to cease purchasing oil and gas from Russia. That action alone could be the most impactful.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his arrival at Russia’s Black Sea resort in Sochi, Russia, Monday, September 4, 2023. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
“He knows Putin like I know Putin,” Trump said of Erdogan.
“I would urge him to halt all oil purchases from Russia while their aggressive campaign against Ukraine continues,” Trump emphasized later during the press conference.
Trump refrained from confirming if Turkey’s long-standing ambition to rejoin the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program could be implicated in a deal where Turkey, being the third-largest purchaser of Russian oil after China and India, would terminate its imports from Russia.
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Turkey was part of the F-35 program until 2019, when the first Trump administration expelled it for purchasing Russian surface-to-air missiles. Turkey lost billions of dollars it had invested in developing the F-35, plus billions more it could have made by manufacturing components for the advanced jet fighter.
“I don’t think it’s very becoming of strategic partnership, and I don’t think it’s the right way to go,” Erdogan said of the F-35 ban in an interview on Monday.
Trump has thus far been unsuccessful in his effort to get India to stop buying Russian oil, despite imposing a 25-percent punitive tariff against India in August. Trump has also been pleading with European leaders to stop buying Russia’s energy products.
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Trump seemingly hinted at an understanding with Erdogan by predicting the Turkish president would “be successful” at buying what he would “like to buy” during his visit to Washington.
“He needs certain things, and we need certain things. And we’re going to come to a conclusion. You’ll know by the end of the day,” Trump said.
The Kremlin was dismissive of Trump’s gambit with Turkey on Friday.
“It is a sovereign state that decides for itself in which areas to cooperate with us. And if certain types of trade in certain goods are deemed advantageous to the Turkish side, then the Turkish side will continue to do so,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
