Trump hints at lifting sanctions on Turkey

President Donald Trump suggested the US could lift sanctions on Turkey and allow it to buy US F-35 jets as he kicked off talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, but said he wanted Ankara to stop purchases of Russian oil.

Erdogan's first visit to the White House in about six years started off with a warm welcome from Trump. Seated side by side in the Oval Office, Trump called Erdogan a "very tough man" and said they remained "friends" while his predecessor Joe Biden was in office.

Ankara is keen to leverage the friendly personal relationship to further national interests and take advantage of a US administration eager to make deals in return for big-ticket arms and trade agreements. Still, Trump pressed Erdogan to cut off oil purchases from Russia, as he tries to put pressure on Russia's sources for funding its war in Ukraine. Turkey, Hungary and Slovakia are the main European purchasers of Russian oil. "I'd like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage against Ukraine," Trump said of Erdogan.

Asked whether he was willing to make a deal to sell F-35s to Turkey, Trump told reporters: "I think he'll be successful in buying the things that he wants to buy." Trump also said he could lift sanctions against Turkey "very soon," and that "if we have a good meeting, almost immediately."

Biden had kept Turkey at arm's length partly over what it saw as the fellow NATO member's close ties with Russia. Under Trump, who views Moscow more favorably and has closer personal ties with Erdogan, Ankara is hoping for a better relationship. Trump and Erdogan - both seen as increasingly autocratic by their critics at home - had a checkered relationship during the Republican president's first term