WASHINGTON ¨C U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the United States could lift sanctions on Turkey and allow it to buy U.S. F-35 jets as he kicked off talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, 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 ¡°very tough man¡± and said they remained ¡°friends¡± while his predecessor, former U.S. President Joe Biden, was in office.
Ankara is keen to leverage the friendly personal relationship to further national interests and take advantage of a U.S. administration eager to make deals in return for big-ticket arms and trade agreements.
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