President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a leading candidate to enter the war alongside Iran, due to his dislike of Israel, but that Trump asked him not to join and Erdogan complied. Trump praised Erdogan as a "great leader" with an excellent army and a strong NATO member, according to a report by Walla News. He also said China could have intervened but did not because he asked Xi Jinping not to.
President Donald Trump added new details to his account of Turkish neutrality in the Iran war late Wednesday. Speaking in the Oval Office alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could have fought alongside Iran because of his dislike for Israel, but that Trump asked him not to and Erdogan complied. Trump praised Erdogan as a "great leader" and Turkey as a strong NATO member. He also said Chinese President Xi Jinping could have intervened but refrained because Trump asked him not to, noting that China gets half its oil from the region. The remarks were reported by Walla News political correspondent Idan Kweller.
The Zioneer's thread on this story began at 23:35 Jerusalem, when Trump was first quoted saying he asked Erdogan not to interfere and Erdogan listened. By version 2 (23:35), the report specified the remarks were made to Rutte and cited Erdogan's dislike of Israel. Version 3 (23:35) added the direct quote "doesn't like Israel." A related SAME-THREAD bulletin at 23:36 reported Trump thanking Erdogan for staying out of the war, and at 23:50, another bulletin said Erdogan 'could have joined the war on Iran's side' as a personal favor to Trump. The current 23:53 bulletin reported Trump signaling he would "do something that makes Erdogan very happy" on arms sales. The source has evolved through multiple reporters and newsrooms: initially reported by Channel 12 and Amichai Stein, then Walla News.
As The Zioneer reported on June 11 and June 18, Trump has a pattern of warm personal statements about Erdogan, calling him a "friend" in June 10 remarks and, in an unconfirmed June 18 report from Middle East Eye, stating he was attending a NATO summit in July solely for Erdogan. The current Oval Office meeting with Rutte provides a diplomatic setting for the remarks.
The key new element in this version is Trump's claim that China also stayed out of the war at his request. This additional assertion — that Beijing, the world's second-largest economy, abstained from intervening — is an unverified claim by Trump, not independently confirmed by Chinese or US official sources. The Oval Office meeting reportedly included no public statement by Rutte or Chinese officials.
4 developments
- DevelopingTrump says he loves Erdogan, praises Turkish leader for staying out of Iran war
- DevelopingTrump says he will speak with Turkey, calls Erdogan 'great'
- DevelopingTrump signals he will 'do something that makes Erdogan very happy' on arms sales to Turkey
- DevelopingTrump says he would call Erdoğan if he heard anti-Semitic remarks, calls him a 'friend'
Source and signal
- Internal intake