Overview

• At a Sept. 25 White House meeting, President Trump asked President Erdoğan to stop buying Russian crude.
• Trump told reporters he thinks Turkey will end the purchases, though no commitment was announced by Ankara.
• He portrayed Erdoğan as a potential mediator respected by Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
• In a Sept. 23 U.N. address, Trump criticized China and India for continued Russian oil imports and urged NATO members to reduce theirs.
• He signaled he might lift the freeze on F-35 sales to Turkey depending on Turkish steps, a restriction imposed after Ankara acquired Russia’s S-400 system.