United States President Donald Trump landed in Turkey today (Tuesday), ahead of the NATO summit expected to be held in the country, and was received by anti-Semitic President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
""Turkey is a very strong country militarily," Trump told Erdogan at a joint press conference. "They have a lot of great soldiers and equipment. I think the meeting today will be good for both countries and we will talk about military issues as well as trade.".
Trump heaped praise on Erdogan and the relationship between the countries. "We are great friends. Erdogan has done a great job, you are a great leader, you are respected all over the world. We have a special relationship.".
During the meeting, Erdogan claimed that Turkey had received a promise from the United States that it would be able to purchase five F-35 fighter jets. "The F-35 issue is not new, we have discussed it with the United States before. We were promised five fighter jets, and we expect this promise to take a positive turn at this summit.".
Trump addressed the issue. "Turkey has been loyal to us, more than other countries, that's a decision we're going to have to make. I think a lot of people, including the people sitting here, are asking: Why don't we do it? In many ways Turkey has been more loyal than other countries that we thought would be loyal. So yes, that's certainly something we'll consider. It's a great plane. It's the best plane today, by a wide margin. And it's certainly something we'll consider.
""We had good chemistry from the beginning, a very special relationship. Turkey has become, under the leadership of the president, a very strong country militarily, people don't know how strong it is. And thanks to the relationship we have, everything has gone very well.".
""I have a lot of respect for the president, and I think it's very beneficial to both countries. There's a reason why the relationship is special. You get along with some people, and you don't get along with some. Sometimes you get along with the toughest people, like him, and sometimes you don't get along with the weakest and most pathetic people. You just don't get along with them and don't respect them.".
Regarding relations between Turkey and Iran, Trump said: "Turkey could have chosen a different side. They know Iran very well and the problems associated with it, but they played a very important role, along with several other countries, in providing assistance.
""They could have joined the fighting. You hear people talking about their relationship with Israel. They could have joined the fighting. This is a country with very great military power, and they didn't. Maybe they didn't do it because of me, but they certainly could have joined the other side.".
