Erdogan Urges Trump to Halt Arming Israel to End the Gaza War

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he hopes the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump will ask Israel to “stop” the war, suggesting that suspending military support for Israel could be a good start. He also formally invited Trump to visit Ankara.

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Erdogan told reporters on his return to Turkey from Budapest, according to an official transcript of his remarks: “Trump promised to end conflicts… We want this promise to be fulfilled and for him to ask Israel to stop.”

He was also quoted as saying, “Cutting off the president-elect’s weapons support for Israel could be a good beginning to end Israeli aggression on Palestinian and Lebanese territories.”

However, the Turkish president’s call for Trump to work on ending U.S. support for Israel militarily is unrealistic, as the Republican leader emphasized in his campaign the need for more support to Israel, including additional munitions and bombs, and a commitment to protecting its security, especially against Iranian threats.

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Although he also pledged to work on ending the war in Gaza and in Lebanon, this is unlikely to come at the expense of Israeli interests, which seems to be overlooked by the Turkish president.

Turkey has strongly criticized Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, halted trade with Israel, and has applied to join a genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Israel strongly denies the genocide accusations.

Erdogan stated that Trump’s presidency will significantly impact the political and military balance in the Middle East, adding that continuing current U.S. policies could worsen the situation in the region and widen the conflict.

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TRT and other media reported that the Turkish president extended an official invitation to Trump, whom he considers a personal friend. Both sides maintain strong relations that have resulted in several agreements, especially in the arms field, with some observers noting that these ties are pragmatic and prioritize bilateral interests.

The Turkish president also addressed the Ukraine issue, saying, “The (Russian-Ukrainian) war could be easily resolved if we saw an American administration addressing the issue from a solution perspective during Trump’s presidency.”

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The president-elect is seen as unenthusiastic about prolonging the Ukraine war and has repeatedly criticized funding the Ukrainian army, while Russia is expected to benefit from the end of the Democrats’ term in the White House.

Erdogan added, “We are a country that has managed to bring both sides (Russia and Ukraine) to the negotiating table, and we have done it multiple times. We can do it again, and this war must end.”

He noted that efforts by some Western countries, particularly the United States, to end the Ukraine war would likely accelerate a resolution there.

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He continued, “From the beginning, we have believed Ukraine was in the right and chose to side with peace in this conflict, ignoring directives to join the war and maintaining communication with both sides,” adding, “We saw that the West did not fully share our belief that diplomacy could lead to a solution.”

The Turkish president concluded by saying, “More weapons, bombs, chaos, and conflict will not end the war in Ukraine; instead, more dialogue and diplomacy are needed to pave the way for peace. We hope to start fresh beginnings in this new phase and reach a world where all conflicts and wars come to an end.”

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