Erdogan Declares Ukraine War Can 'Easily End' With Trump In White House
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has issued some surprisingly blunt statements on the future Trump administration Friday, joining those who see Trump's leadership as the best option for achieving peace in Ukraine.
Erdogan asserted his belief that the President-Elect should follow through with enough resolve on his campaign promises to see them through regarding arriving a negotiated settlement in Ukraine quickly.
"Efforts by some Western countries, led by the United States, to end the war in Ukraine would accelerate the conflict resolution process," the Turkish president began by saying.
"If we see that the US administration under Trump approaches this issue from a peaceful perspective, we can easily bring an end to this conflict," Anadolu news agency quoted him at a press briefing as saying.
Ukrainian media also highlighted the same statement as follows:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that the Russo-Ukrainian war could "easily end" if a problem-solving approach is applied by the US administration led by Donald Trump.
"More weapons, more bombs, or more chaos will not end this war," the Turkish leader continued, echoing some of the very words of Trump previously issued on the campaign trail.
"More dialogue, more diplomacy, and more compromise would open the door to peace," he said, stressing that Turkey has played a vial role in this, especially helping oversee the UN grain deal which took effect early in the war.
"We have done so many times and we will do so again. This war must be ended now. As we focus our efforts to achieve peace, we will continue working in this direction," Erdogan said in the remarks.
He had also concluded, "Although there were occasional differences of opinion, the model partnership between Turkey and the US is indisputable" - speaking of the first four years of the Trump administration.
Turkey has repeatedly offered to act as mediator for new rounds of talks; however, the Western allies have by and large encouraged Kiev to keep fighting and to not compromise on the issue of territorial integrity.
But Turkey has been a rare NATO voice which has stood opposed to US and EU-led sanctions. Russia has been somewhat vital to Turkey's economy, especially in the areas of energy, defense, and tourism.
On a congratulatory phone call made to Trump, Erdogan said "We were able to establish contact within 24 hours in the past, and we tried to achieve results through telephone diplomacy accordingly." He added: "I do not anticipate any issues in this regard during this term."