Istanbul (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump over the phone and discussed efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and restore stability in Syria, Erdogan’s office said Sunday.
He said Turkey supports his “decisive and direct initiative” to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and Turkey will continue to strive for “just and lasting peace.”
Erdogan also spoke about the importance of “collectively promoting the importance of restoring stability in Syria, bringing the functions of the new government and supporting normalization”, the statement said, adding that this would allow Syrians to return to their homelands.
It also takes into account Turkey’s interests, which also expects U.S. steps on the fight against terrorism.
In its fight against the ISIS in Syria, the United States has allied forces with the Syrian Kurdish militia, which Türkiye regards as a terrorist organization. Turkey severely criticized this U.S. position as a betrayal of NATO allies.
Erdogan said it was necessary to end Caatsa sanctions and finalize Ankara’s F-16 procurement process and its re-engagement in the F-35 program to develop defense industry cooperation between Turkey and the United States.
Ankara’s past purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems has prompted U.S. sanctions and Türkiye to evacuate from its 2019 F-35 fighter program.
(Other reports by Can Sezer; written by Daren Butler, edited by Louise Heavens)
