President Donald Trump on Monday said he held a ‘productive’ call with Turkish President Recep Erdogan on a range of topics, including the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump shared details of the call in a post on his TRUTH Social platform.
‘I just had a very good and productive telephone conversation with the President of Turkey, Recep Erdoğan, concerning many subjects, including the War with Russia/Ukraine, all things Syria, Gaza, and more,’ Trump wrote.
The president added that he is looking forward to working with Erdogan to end the ‘ridiculous, but deadly’ Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump has vowed to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, though the U.S. has tempered expectations regarding recent peace talks it’s brokering between the warring nations.
Gaza has also been a major issue for the Trump administration as Israel works to get its hostages returned after Hamas led a deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023. As the fighting in Gaza has escalated, Trump has pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘to be good to Gaza’ because the people there ‘are suffering.’
Trump noted that his relationship with Erdogan during his first term was ‘excellent,’ adding that the Turkish leader invited him to Turkey at a future date. Trump said Erdogan will also visit Washington, D.C., though no date was immediately provided.
Trump also highlighted that he and Erdogan had ‘worked together closely on numerous things,’ including the return of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who Trump said was freed ‘immediately upon my request.’
Brunson was imprisoned and detained in Turkey for 735 days on terror and treason charges in October 2016 over his alleged ties to an outlawed group after a massive government crackdown following a failed coup months earlier.