Erdogan says progress made in meeting with Trump

ANKARA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that "meaningful progress" was made on bilateral and regional issues during his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.

"We are leaving Washington with satisfaction," Erdogan told reporters on his flight back to Turkiye, according to a transcript shared by his office.

"Resolving every issue in a single meeting is, of course, impossible. However, this contact has enabled us to make meaningful progress on many issues," Erdogan said, adding that they talked about Gaza and Syria.

On economic relations, Erdogan said they discussed measures to enhance trade and investment ties based on mutual interests. "We exchanged views on trade-facilitating steps, including the review of customs duties, to achieve our 100 billion US dollar trade target," he said.

He also said the talks addressed steps to advance cooperation in defense and security.

Before the meeting, Erdogan told reporters that he would discuss with Trump "in detail" the sales of F-16 and F-35 fighter jets to Turkiye.

The meeting took place amid ongoing unresolved issues in the US-Turkiye relationship, including the dispute over the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Ankara, US sanctions on Turkiye, and Trump's former call for NATO members, including Turkiye, to cease purchasing Russian oil.

During his first term, Trump removed Turkiye, a NATO ally, from its F-35 fighter jet program following Ankara's purchase of a Russian air defense system.