ISTANBUL (Reuters) โ Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump and discussed efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and to restore stability in Syria, Erdoganโs office said on Sunday.
He told Trump that Turkey supports his โdecisive and direct initiativesโ to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and that Turkey will continue to strive for a โjust and lasting peaceโ, the statement said.
Erdogan also spoke of โthe importance of jointly contributing to the lifting of sanctions on Syria to restore stability, make the new administration functional and support normalisation,โ the statement said, adding that this would enable Syrians to return to their homeland.
Turkey also expects steps from the United States regarding the fight against terrorism, taking into account Turkeyโs interests, it said.
In the battle against Islamic State in Syria, the United States is allied with a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey regards as a terrorist group. Turkey has sharply criticised this U.S. stance as a betrayal of a NATO ally.
Erdogan said it was necessary to end CAATSA sanctions, finalise Ankaraโs F-16 procurement process and its re-participation in the F-35 programme in order to develop defence industry cooperation between Turkey and the United States.
Ankaraโs past purchase of Russian S-400 air defence systems prompted U.S. sanctions and Turkeyโs removal from the F-35 fighter jet programme in 2019.
(Additional reporting by Can Sezer; Writing by Daren Butler, Editing by Louise Heavens)
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