President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could be enormously influential in ending the Russian war in Ukraine “if he wants to.”
Trump, who has demanded more and more in recent weeks that NATO bonded people stop all Russian oil purchases to block the financing for the war box of Russian President Vladimir Putin, pointed his sentences on Erdoğan as he spoke with reporters of the Oval Office.
“I think he could have a big influence if he wants,” Trump said, sitting next to Erdoğan. “At the moment he is very neutral. He likes to be neutral. I am also like being neutral.”
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President Donald Trump gives comments during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Oval Office in the White House on September 25, 2025 in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty images)
“But he is someone who got involved when he got involved, the best he could do is not buying oil and gas from Russia,” Trump added.
The president told reporters the two most important issues he was planning to discuss with the Turkish leader were “war” and “trade”.
“I would like him to stop buying oil from Russia. While Russia continues this rampage to Ukraine,” Trump said. “Share.”
“Putin should stop,” he added.
Trump mocked NATO bondmen for ‘Financing the war against himself’ with Russian energy purchases
A child waves from a bus window after crossing the Ukrainian border to Poland near the Medyka Crossing on March 14, 2022. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty images)
Erdoğan said he is planning to discuss the sale of US F-35s to Turkey, who forbade the US to obtain Ankara during the first term of Trump after it had also purchased a Russian air defense system for concern that Moscow could get the American technology.
Trump did not say on Thursday whether he would agree to lift or use the ban to negotiate the Turkish import of Russian oil. Ankara is the third largest importer in Russia, behind India and China.
But while India has already had secondary rates Pulled on it and the negotiations with China keep going, Turkey has so far escaped the secondary rate threats of Trump – although Trump said that rates would also be on the agenda of the day.
A US Navy F-35C Lightning II can be seen on the cockpit on board the USS Carl Vinson, an American nuclear aircraft carrier, during its port visit on a South Korean naval base in the southeastern port city of Busan on November 22, 2023. (Song Kyung-seok/Pool/AFP via Getty images)
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Trump said on Thursday that the US and Turkey are “in excellent condition” when it comes to obtaining a possible deal on F-16 fighter jets, but did not indicate whether it also extended to F-35s.
“We’re talking about that very seriously,” Trump said. “He needs certain things, and we need certain things, and we will come to a conclusion towards the end of the day.”
