US President Donald Trump has called on Turkey to end its purchases of Russian oil, warning that such imports help fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Seated beside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House, Trump said: “The best thing he could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia. If he did that, that would be the best thing.” He added that Ankara could “have a big influence” on the conflict, given Erdogan’s ties with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
Despite the firm words, the Oval Office talks stopped short of any agreement on sanctions or fighter jet sales. Turkey was expelled from the F-35 programme in 2019 after acquiring Russian S-400 missile systems, and US law continues to block Ankara from buying the jets.
Still, Trump hinted change may be possible: “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.”
Erdogan, who earlier told Fox News that the F-35 ban was not “very becoming of a strategic partnership,” is hoping his warmer personal ties with Trump will ease the way forward.
Trump also suggested sanctions on Turkey, imposed in 2020 over the S-400 purchase, could be lifted “very soon” if the two sides had a “good meeting.”
Turkey remains one of Russia’s largest energy customers, with gas flows to Europe via Turkish pipelines increasing by more than a quarter this year. Ankara insists its energy needs require such imports, but Trump’s comments reflect a broader push by Washington to sever Russian funding streams.
Alongside discussions on defence and trade, Erdogan said he would also revisit the long-standing issue of the Halki seminary near Istanbul, closed by the Turkish state in 1971.
“We will do what is required of us,” he promised, pledging to raise the matter directly with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Trump noted the importance of the seminary to the Greek Orthodox community, remarking: “The Greek Orthodox Church was here [at the White House], and they would really like to have some help.”
While the leaders avoided clashing in public over Israel’s war in Gaza, where Erdogan has accused Israel of committing “complete genocide”, the divide remains a potential obstacle in what both hope will be a more transactional relationship.
Source: BBC News
