The president says Turkey is “much more loyal” than some other NATO allies.
ANKARA, Turkey — President Donald Trump heaped praise on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he arrived at the NATO summit on Tuesday but stopped short of publicly agreeing to give Erdogan what he wants most — the ability to purchase U.S. F-35 fighter jets, which many in Congress oppose.
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Trump extolled Erdogan as a shining example of a friend and ally as the president offered cooler assessments of other NATO leaders.
Answering questions from reporters at the start of a meeting between the two leaders, Trump said that he thought allowing Erdogan to have access to the fighter jets made sense and that it was “certainly something we will consider.”
Erdogan offered a more definitive judgment, saying in Turkish that Trump had promised the country five planes and that “Mr. Trump always stands by his word.”
The meeting with Turkey’s leader came shortly after Trump arrived in the country. Stepping off his new Air Force One, the luxury jet donated by the Qatari royal family, Trump clapped his hands and smiled at the sight of Erdogan. He grabbed the Turkish leader’s shoulder as he shook his hand before traveling to the presidential compound for an arrival ceremony.
The men walked together down a long blue carpet as a live band played and military planes streaked the sky in red, white and blue contrails. Trump stopped at a microphone and recited a short “hello” in Turkish to the honor guard performing.
The two have a “good chemistry,” Trump told reporters when asked why he got along so well with the Turkish leader.
“You never know why a relationship is special,” Trump said. “Sometimes you get along with the toughest people, like him, and sometimes you don’t get along with the weakest, most pathetic people.”
The visit is the president’s first to Turkey while in office.
Trump last month said he planned to present a gift to Erdogan in Turkey that would make him “very happy” and has also suggested that Erdogan serving as host was the main reason he made the nine-hour trek to the NATO summit.
The main item Erdogan has sought are the F-35 fighter jets. During Trump’s first term, Turkey was banned from receiving the stealth planes because the country bought a Russian air defense system.
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A senior administration official told The Washington Post before the meeting that Trump was expected to confirm that he will greenlight the purchases. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that was not yet final.
At the meeting with Erdogan, Trump said the sale of the planes would make sense.
“I can tell you many people, including the people sitting right here, think, ‘Why wouldn’t we do that?’ We have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey’s been, in many ways, much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal,” Trump said.
Members of Congress from both parties have raised concerns with the potential sale. A major one is that Russia could use the antiaircraft system to obtain secrets about the radar-evading technology used in F-35 planes. Vice President JD Vance last month said the administration was still “reviewing” whether the sale could take place.
NATO leaders have come to the summit bracing for surprises from Trump but also hoping that the more conciliatory stance he took at the Group of Seven summit in France last month will again make an appearance.
They are coming armed with the latest numbers on defense spending, which they hope will be enough to allow Trump to claim a win and declare that he has pushed the alliance to spend more at his direction.
But laggards remain. Spain has remained opposed to defense-spending targets that more than doubled last year to 5 percent of annual domestic product. Other countries, including major ones such as Britain and Italy, are increasing their budgets, but not as fast as the targets demand, and they are struggling under the resulting financial strain.
Turkish officials, who are hosting the conference, have nodded at the work they are confronting as leaders gather.
“Our role is not limited to be host of the summit. I think we will be a mediator in some sessions,” Mevlut Cavusoglu, a Turkish lawmaker who was a longtime foreign minister, said at an event Tuesday ahead of the leaders’ arrivals.
“There are differences within Congress as to the president’s approach, we recognize that, but here’s the part that I think is also important,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) told NATO policymakers and diplomats. “We’re here to express support that we see within Congress itself for a long-term NATO relationship that everybody has a high degree of confidence within.”
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Ellen Francis and Burhan Yüksekkaș in Ankara contributed to this report.
