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United States President Donald Trump has hosted his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the White House for the first time since 2019.

In a brief Oval Office news conference on Thursday, the two leaders gave reporters a preview of the issues they would discuss behind closed doors, including the sale of military equipment, trade and global conflicts.

“ He’s a highly respected man. He’s respected very much in his country and all throughout Europe and throughout the world where they know him,” Trump said, gesturing to Erdogan. “It’s an honour to have him.”

While Trump has maintained friendly relations with Erdogan during his second term, the ties between their two countries have faced strain in recent years, particularly as a result of Turkiye’s continued trade with Russia.

Still, both leaders sought to cast their relationship in a positive light at Thursday’s meeting, which was followed by a joint lunch.

“We’ve had a very good relationship for a long time,” Trump said, adding, “ This is a tough man. This is a guy who’s highly opinionated. Usually, I don’t like opinionated people, but I always like this one.”

Erdogan, for his part, said that he was “very pleased” to be returning to the White House and hoped to carry Turkiye-US relations to “a much different level”.

Here are some of the key issues the pair addressed in their wide-ranging news conference:

‘Close to a deal’ on Gaza

Thursday’s Oval Office meeting comes days after both Erdogan and Trump spoke at the United Nations General Assembly, where several world leaders pushed for recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Trump himself met Arab and Muslim leaders on the sidelines of the assembly.

Though few details have emerged about the sideline meeting, Trump officials reportedly presented their proposal to bring Israel’s war on Gaza to an end.

That war has killed at least 65,502 Palestinians and wounded 167,376 more since its start in October 2023. An independent UN commission earlier this month accused Israel of committing the crime of genocide in the territory.

On Thursday, when asked about this week’s negotiations, Trump reiterated that he had had “a very great meeting with the representatives of the most powerful countries in the Middle East”. He added that the US was “close to a deal” to end the war.

“I think we can get that one done,” Trump said. “I hope we can get it done. A lot of people are dying, but we want the hostages back.”

Trump stressed that the return of the Israeli captives held in Gaza — both the living and the bodies of the deceased — was a necessary condition to achieving a ceasefire.

The next step, he explained, was to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and stress that all parties involved want the war to end.

“I believe in the peace efforts Mr Trump is leading,” Erdogan added.

The Turkish leader had been among the participants in the meeting, along with representatives from Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Trump tells Putin ‘time to stop’ in Ukraine

Trump has also repeatedly pledged to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022 and has resulted in a slow-grinding war.

But in short remarks on Thursday addressing the war, Trump briefly needled Erdogan for his country’s continued trade with Russia.

“I’d like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage against Ukraine,” Trump said.

Earlier this week, Trump made headlines when he posted on social media that he believes Ukraine can win back all of the territory Russia has captured since the invasion began.

It was a sudden about-face for the US president, whose administration has long maintained that Ukraine would have to cede occupied territory in order to achieve peace.

At Thursday’s news conference, Trump also chastised Russian President Vladimir Putin for continuing the war in Ukraine, calling it “such a waste of human life.”

“ Russia’s spent millions and millions of dollars in bombs, missiles, ammunition and lives — their lives. And they’ve gained virtually no land,” Trump said. “I think it’s time to stop, I really do.”

Trade deals and sanctions

One of the most anticipated elements of Thursday’s meeting was the prospect that the US could resume trading military aircraft with Turkiye.

In 2019, during Trump’s first term as president, the US removed Turkiye from a programme that saw Washington sell sophisticated F-35 fighter jets to allies.

The US expressed fears at the time that Turkiye’s use of Russian technology could result in the collection of US military data.

But on Thursday, Trump hinted he may lift sanctions against the sale of such aircraft to Turkiye if his meeting with Erdogan went well.

“I know he wants the F-35, and he’s wanted that,” Trump said of Erdogan. “And we’re talking about that very seriously.”

The pair also planned to discuss the transfer of F-16 fighter jets. The US had approved the sale of the F-16s to Turkiye in January 2024 after the Turkish parliament ratified Sweden’s NATO membership.

When asked whether he was willing to make a deal to sell F-35s as well, Trump said of Erdogan, “I think he’ll be successful in buying the things that he wants to buy.”

Trump also said he could lift sanctions against Turkiye’s defence industries “very soon”, adding: “If we have a good meeting, almost immediately.”

‘Major announcement’ coming on Syria

At Thursday’s news conference, Trump took time to praise Erdogan, as well, for his government’s efforts in war-torn Syria.

He also teased that he would make a “major announcement” later in the day about Syria, but did not elaborate.

Syria had faced a nearly 14-year-long civil war until last December, when a rebel offensive toppled the government of former President Bashar al-Assad.

Since the fall of al-Assad’s government, the Trump administration has begun to lift sanctions against Syria that were designed to address human rights abuses under the former president.

At Thursday’s meeting, Trump credited Erdogan with paving the way for the sanctions relief in Syria. He also praised Erdogan for his role in al-Assad’s removal.

“ I think President Erdogan is the one responsible for Syria, for the successful fight in ridding Syria of its past leader,” Trump said. “ I think this man is responsible. He doesn’t take the responsibility, but it’s actually a great achievement.”

Trump added, “I took sanctions off in order to let them breathe, because those sanctions were very strong.”