WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Monday he wanted to work with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to end Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine, after the two leaders spoke by telephone.
Trump added on his Truth Social network that Erdogan had also invited him to visit Turkiye and that the Turkish leader would be meeting him in Washington.
鈥淚 look forward to working with President Erdogan on getting the ridiculous, but deadly, War between Russia and Ukraine ended 鈥� NOW!鈥� Trump posted.
Trump, who promised to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of starting his second term in January, has been pushing Kyiv and Moscow to reach a ceasefire deal.
NATO member Turkiye has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbors since the Russian invasion and has twice hosted talks aimed at ending the war.
The two leaders also discussed 鈥渁ll things Syria, Gaza and more鈥� in what Trump called a 鈥渧ery good and productive telephone conversation鈥� with Erdogan.
Trump said he and Erdogan had an 鈥渆xcellent鈥� relationship during his first term as US president from 2017 to 2021.
The Turkish president鈥檚 office said Erdogan had told Trump that US efforts to ease sanctions on Syria would 鈥渃ontribute鈥� to stabilizing the war-torn country.
Washington has said any normalization or lifting of sanctions following the December ouster of Bashar Assad will depend on verifiable progress by Syria鈥檚 new authorities on priorities including actions against 鈥渢error.鈥�
Erdogan also thanked Trump for his 鈥渁pproach to ending wars,鈥� with the statement mentioning Ukraine, Gaza and negotiations on Iran.
He raised the issue of the war-battered Gaza Strip, telling Trump that humanitarian aid should 鈥渂e delivered to Gaza without interruption.鈥�
Israel halted all aid to the 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza in March and its security cabinet has approved the expansion of military operations in Gaza including the 鈥渃onquest鈥� of the Palestinian territory.
Trump is due to visit 萝莉视频, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week.