Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit his country and discuss various topics of mutual interest, including the war in Gaza, which Erdogan wants Trump to “stop” by applying more pressure against Israel.
“We are facing numerous challenges, including the Palestine issue and the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Overcoming these is possible through Turkey-U.S. cooperation,” Erdogan told reporters on his flight home from the European Political Community Summit in Budapest.
“We have invited him to our country, and I hope he will accept our invitation,” he said of Trump.
Erdogan said he hoped he could develop a stronger “partnership” with the U.S. during a second Trump administration, reflecting that he had a good working relationship with Trump during his first term.
“While there were occasional differences of opinion, the model partnership between Turkey and the U.S. is undeniable,” he said.
“We will continue our talks with Donald Trump and discuss how we will shape developments in the Middle East, as we did before, through telephone diplomacy. For example, we will evaluate the issue of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria,” he said, mentioning that Trump long ago gave him his personal phone number.
There are less than a thousand American troops left in Syria and, according to Trump ally Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., on Thursday, Trump does indeed want to remove them – because he worries they could become “cannon fodder” if Turkey launches another operation against the Syrian Kurds.
Erdogan claimed all of the Syrian Kurdish militias are allied with the violent PKK separatist organization, which Turkey wants to eliminate. He accused the United States of supporting terrorism by backing any of the Kurdish armed groups in Syria.
The Turkish president also recalled Trump’s promise to bring an end to the conflict in Gaza, although Erdogan portrayed this purely as a matter of Trump playing hardball with Israel, without any mention of Palestinian or Lebanese terrorists.
“We want that promise to be fulfilled, and for Israel to be told to stop. I believe that Mr. Trump cutting off arms support to Israel could be an important step toward halting Israeli aggression in Palestinian and Lebanese territories,” he said.
Erdogan, an authoritarian Islamist who fancies himself as a protector and leader of Muslims worldwide, has accused Israel of committing “genocide” against the Palestinians and compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler. Erdogan studiously avoids mentioning exactly who the Israelis are fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, or why.
The Turkish president also hoped Trump could deliver on his promise to end the war in Ukraine.
“More weapons, more bombs, more chaos, and conflict will not end this war. More dialogue, more diplomacy, and more consensus can open the door to peace,” Erdogan said.
“We’ve supported Ukraine’s rightful stance and pursued peace, choosing diplomacy over joining the conflict. Unlike Turkey, the West often failed to provide diplomatic solutions. If the Trump administration adopts a problem-solving approach, this war could be swiftly ended,” he added.
Erdogan’s relationship with outgoing President Joe Biden had grown notably awkward toward the end of the Biden presidency, in part because Erdogan accused Biden of supporting Israel in Gaza. He concluded his remarks on Thursday by expressing his displeasure with the defeated Democrat administration.
“The continuation of the Biden administration’s policies would deepen the deadlock in the region and spread conflict. We do not want this at all,” he said.
