Erdogan White House visit: When Donald Trump welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House this week, it marked the first time leaders of the two countries had met since 2019. A day later, on Friday, Turkish Airlines announced it would order 75 Boeing 787 aircraft and had completed negotiations to buy 150 737 MAX planes, subject to engine talks. The announcement of this long-in-the-works deal was the first outcome of the two leaders' meeting. Two thornier issues — Turkey getting F-35 jets from the US and giving up or reducing oil purchase from Russia — are believed to have seen some progress, though details are not known yet. Before the meeting, on Wednesday, Turkey Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar had said his country signed a 20-year deal with trading company Mercuria to buy US liquefied natural gas. Why US-Turkey ties soured after 2019 Relations between NATO allies US and Turkey have been fraught for much of the past decade. The chill deepened after 2019 for several reasons. Among the biggest factors was Ankara’s decision to buy the Russian-made S-400 air defence system. This led Washington to expel Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet programme, where Turkey was both manufacturer and buyer. The Americans feared that the use of the S-400 surface-to-air missile systems by Turkey could mean Russians getting information about the F-35s, among the most advanced American fighter jets. It was the previous Trump administration that used the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Turkey and got it ejected from the jet programme. Washington DC and Ankara also disagreed with the extent of action Turkey should take against Kurdish fighters inside Syrian territory. Turkey has long waged a battle against Kurdish insurgents, whom it terms terrorists. Then after Joe Biden came to power, he sought distance from a Turkey where democracy and civil liberties were sliding under Erdogan and which insisted on maintaining ties with Russia. What has changed under Trump 2.0? Turkey, with the largest standing NATO army second to the US and with its strategic geographical location, matters in the two big wars raging right now, between Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, and the US would want it as a negotiating voice on its side. Trump and Erdogan also seek greater economic benefits from an improved relationship, hoping to meet the $100 billion trade target set during Trump 1.0. Then is the fact that the two administrations now largely agree over Syria, choosing to back the new President, Ahmad al-Sharaa, who came to power after the fall of Bashar al-Assad last year. The biggest issue remains Turkey's huge purchases of oil from Russia — it is the third largest buyer after China and India. Erdogan also remains a stringent critic of America's 'iron-clad' ally Israel. Trump has been urging Erdogan to give up the oil purchase, and hinted at unfreezing the F-35 pipeline. Turkey wants the new fighter jets, as wars rage on either of its sides and Israel, specially, gets ever more belligerent. What happened after the meeting? Details are scant, but the meeting was cordial and both leaders praised each other. In a news conference before the closer-door meeting, Trump said of Erdogan, “We’ve had a very good relationship for a long time. This is a tough man. This is a guy who’s highly opinionated. Usually, I don’t like opinionated people, but I always like this one.” Erdogan said he was “very pleased” to be at the White House and wanted the two countries' ties taken to “a much different level”. About Russian oil, Trump 'felt confident' Erdogan would stop. “You know why? Because he can buy it from a lot of other people.” About the F-35s, Trump said, “I think he'll [Erdogan] be successful in buying the things that he wants to buy.” No announcement on either of the issues has yet been made.
