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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