[Text/Observer Network Xiong Chaoran] On September 25th, local time, US President Trump and Turkish President Erdogan met at the White House to discuss US-Turkey relations and related security and economic issues.
AP on the same day that during Trump’s first term, the United States purchased Russian air defense systems because of Turkey, excluding this NATO ally from its core F-35 fighter project. U.S. officials fear that Turkey’s use of Russian-made S-400 ground-to-air missile systems could collect performance data for the F-35 and may flow into Russian hands. But now, Trump, who returns to the White House, is considering lifting restrictions on selling the F-35 to Turkey.
According to reports, Trump opened a two-hour meeting with Erdogan in a light tone that day, after the US president said: "He (Erdogan) needs something, we also need something, and we will come to the conclusion. By the end of today you will know," he also added to Erdogan, "I think you will succeed in buying what you want to buy."
The BBC that Trump urged Turkey to stop buying oil from Russia and told Erdogan that stopping these imports would be “the best thing Turkey could do.”The BBC said that after the talks, Trump did not explicitly promise to lift U.S. sanctions on Turkey or the ban on the sale of the F-35, although he was optimistic on both issues.
Earlier, Erdogan made it clear that he wanted to see the “F-35 ban” lifted and said he was ready to “discuss thoroughly” the issue with Trump. This week, in an interview with Fox News, he said about the “F-35 ban,” “I don’t think this is a real strategic partnership, nor is it the right practice.”
On September 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C., US President Trump met with Turkish President Erdogan. Vision of China
According to reports, in front of reporters, Trump's hype exaggerated his concerns about the sustained development of economic relations between Turkey and Russia. According to the Associated Press, since January 2023, Turkey has been one of the largest buyers of Russian fossil fuels, purchasing more than $90 billion in Russian oil, coal and natural gas products, second only to China and India.
According to the BBC, data showed that earlier this year, the volume of Russian natural gas exported to Europe via Turkey increased by more than 26%.
Trump said he hoped that Turkey would stop buying any Russian oil while Russia continues its offensive against Ukraine, and stressed: “The best thing he can do is not buy oil from Russia, and if he does, it’s best.”
The Associated Press said that although Erdogan did not make a direct pledge during the talks, after the Trump meeting he was “strongly convinced” of this, insisting that “I don’t want to say Erdogan agreed to stop buying (Russian oil), but if I want him to stop, he will stop.”
Trump added that Erdogan is respected by both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. "I think he could have a significant impact if he wanted to," Trump said.
On June 21, 2018, Lockheed Martin held the opening ceremony of the Turkish F-35 fighter aircraft at its plant in Wassburg, Texas. Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter official website
Previously, Turkey was one of the partners of the F-35 stealth fighter project. It originally planned to purchase 100 F-35 fighters from the United States, and once spent money to order 30. In 2017, Turkey signed an agreement with Russia and planned to spend $2.5 billion to purchase four battalions of S-400 air defense systems. In this regard, the United States and its leading NATO organization strongly opposed Turkey's procurement of S-400 system on the grounds of "damaging information security".
Following repeated warnings from the United States, the Turkish government is determined to purchase Russian-made S-400 systems, which also resulted in Turkey being eventually removed from the multinational F-35 aircraft project in July 2019.
On July 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a contract and made a clear decision to purchase F-35 fighter jets originally produced for Turkey. This also means that even though people have been sent to the United States for flight and ground handling training, Turkey still completely "said goodbye" to this fighter.