ANKARA, March 16. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said in a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump that Ankara supports Washington's efforts for a settlement in Ukraine.
"President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump. Turkey-US bilateral relations, regional and global issues were discussed. Our president said that regional and global processes require intensified consultations between Turkey and the US, that Turkey supports the US president's strong and direct initiatives to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and that Turkey has sought a just and lasting peace since the beginning of the war and will continue to do so," Erdogan's office said in a statement following the leaders' conversation.
It is noted that during the conversation, Erdogan "expressed full confidence that Turkey and the United States, as two allies, will advance their cooperation in a spirit of solidarity, sincerity and wish to achieve results." In particular, he noted that "it is important for the countries to jointly contribute to restoring stability in Syria, making its new administration workable and lifting sanctions against Syria."
Erdogan also told Trump that Turkey "expects the US to take steps in the context of the fight against terrorism, which will be done with Turkey's interests in mind. "The Turkish president said that in order to develop cooperation between the two countries in the defense industry, it is necessary to lift sanctions [within the framework of the law] CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act - TASS), complete the process of purchasing F-16s and resolve the issue of Turkey's re-inclusion in the F-35 program," the office said.".