Trump, Erdogan discuss Gaza, Syria in ‘good and productive’ phone conversation
US president says Turkish leader will visit DC in future, touts potential for working together to end Ukraine war; Ankara’s readout stresses issue of humanitarian aid to Gaza
US President Donald Trump said Monday that he had held a “very good and productive” phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with topics including Gaza, Syria, Ukraine, and Iran.
Trump said the pair discussed the wars in both Gaza and Ukraine, while Erdogan’s office said in its own readout that the Turkish leader highlighted the gravity of the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.
“I look forward to working with President Erdogan on getting the ridiculous, but deadly, War between Russia and Ukraine ended — NOW!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
The two leaders also discussed “all things Syria, Gaza and more,” said Trump, who touted his “excellent” relationship with Erdogan. Trump said the Turkish leader will be coming to Washington at an unspecified date and that Erdogan invited him to Turkey as well.
Trump and Erdogan’s strong relationship has been a sore point for Israel, which has been at odds with Turkey over the war in Gaza and more recently the rise of Ahmed al-Sharaa’s regime in Syria.
Erdogan’s office said that the Turkish leader told Trump Ankara “is ready to cooperate and provide all kinds of support to establish a [Gaza] ceasefire and ensure lasting peace.” He also told Trump that US efforts to ease sanctions on Syria would “contribute” to stabilizing the war-torn country.
Washington has said any normalization or lifting of sanctions following the December ouster of Bashar al-Assad will depend on verifiable progress by Syria’s new authorities on priorities including actions against “terror.”
Erdogan also thanked Trump for his “approach to ending wars,” with the statement mentioning Ukraine, Gaza and negotiations on Iran.
NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbors since the Russian invasion and has twice hosted talks aimed at ending the war.
The Turkish leader raised the issue of the war-battered Gaza Strip, telling Trump that humanitarian aid should “be delivered to Gaza without interruption.”
Erdogan has been one of the most harshly critical foreign leaders of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, accusing Jerusalem of genocide and war crimes, praising ICC arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, and calling on the UN to recommend the use of force against Israel.
The Turkish leader earlier this year also dismissed Trump’s controversial plan to displace the residence of Gaza in order to rebuild the Strip as a tourist hub as having “nothing worth considering or discussing.”
In recent months, following the fall of the Assad regime, Turkey has been seeking to exert greater influence over the nascent Syrian government. Erdogan has blasted Israel’s military presence in Syria, while Jerusalem has accused the Turkish leader of trying to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate.
While Netanyahu was in Washington last month, Trump said he could help negotiate between Israel and Erdogan, who the US president called “very smart.”
Trump appeared to acknowledge Turkey’s dominance in Syria, saying he told Erdogan he had “taken it over through surrogates.”
“I said, ‘Congratulations, you’ve done what nobody’s been able to do in 2,000 years. You’ve taken over Syria.’ With different names, but same thing,” Trump said at the time.
In his own comments in the White House last month, Netanyahu said, “We’ve had neighborly relations with Turkey that have deteriorated, and we don’t want to see Syria being used by anyone, including Turkey, as a base for attack in Israel.”
Netanyahu added that he and Trump “discussed how we can avoid this conflict in a variety of ways, and I think we can’t have a better interlocutor than the president of the United States for this purpose.”
Last month, Israel and Turkey confirmed that they were holding deconfliction talks hosted by Azerbaijan to avoid potential clashes or misunderstandings in Syria.
The Times of Israel Community.