Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is working to secure a meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, possibly toward the end of April, Turkish officials familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Erdoğan sees the strengthening of a strategic partnership between Ankara and Washington as critical for regional stability as Turkey looks to become a prominent power broker on issues from Ukraine to Syria, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The role of the country as NATO linchpin is particularly important while the US reviews its commitment to Europe, they said.
Erdoğan’s office declined to comment to Bloomberg.
US-Turkey ties have been strained by Ankara’s purchase of a Russian missile defense system and Washington’s support for a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey views as a threat to the country, among other disputes.
In a call with Trump on Sunday, Erdoğan urged the US president to lift sanctions imposed during his first term on Turkey’s defense industries as a result of the Russian purchase. He also asked for an end to Turkey’s exclusion from the development of F-35 warplanes and for the sale of new F-16 fighters to be finalized.
“Turkey and the US, as two allies, will advance their cooperation in the new era with solidarity,” according to a readout of the call from Erdoğan’s communications office. “Regional and global developments necessitate increasing consultations between Turkey and the US on all matters.”
Erdoğan’s reaching out to the US comes as he seeks closer defense and economic cooperation with the European Union in return for security as the continent looks at ways to reduce reliance on Washington. That could include Turkish troops joining a future Ukraine peacekeeping mission, according to people familiar with the matter, as international talks continue on a potential peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv.
Turkey is leveraging its traditional role straddling east and west, with its NATO membership and Muslim identity under Erdoğan giving it credibility in both Europe and the Middle East. The country established a joint operation mechanism to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, a key US concern, together with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq earlier this month.
Jet purchases
Turkey’s longstanding requests to buy new F-16 fighter jets to upgrade NATO’s second largest fleet and jointly produce warplane engines are high on Erdoğan’s agenda, the people said.
Turkey has been trying since 2021 to buy 40 new Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16s to modernize its existing fighter fleet. The country hopes to eventually develop its own jets, but the retirement of its F-4 planes is overdue and the military sees upgrading its F-16s as a stopgap measure.
The F-16s would help Turkey out of a bind after the US blocked it from buying Lockheed’s most advanced fighter, the F-35, in response to Turkey’s decision to acquire the S-400 missiles.
If Trump were to lift the Turkish defense sanctions, he’s required to ask Congress to waive legislation that effectively cut off Turkey’s top defense procurement agency from US financial institutions, military hardware and technology. That would allow Turkey to buy fifth-generation F-35 jets, ensure its military can operate in sync with other members of the NATO alliance and bolster deterrence in its southeastern flank.
Another bone of contention has been the US arming and training of Kurdish forces in Syria. Turkey has regarded them as a threat due to their affiliation with the separatist Kurdish group the PKK, which is waging a war for autonomy in Turkey’s southeast.
Turkey is cautiously optimistic that a recent deal to integrate US-backed Kurdish forces in state institutions could ease its security concerns if the PKK agrees to lay down arms after declaring a ceasefire, the people said.