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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call Tuesday, moving to synchronize their strategies on the post-war governance of Gaza and the precarious transition in Syria.
The discussion marks a significant effort to align Ankara and Washington’s regional priorities, with Erdogan signaling a readiness to deepen defense industry cooperation.
According to the Turkish presidency, the conversation centered on the operational success of the Board of Peace, the Trump-led initiative for Gaza’s administration. Erdogan framed the board’s mission as a prerequisite for regional stability, stressing that the "humanitarian catastrophe" in the enclave must be resolved to clear a path for reconstruction.
On the Syrian front, Erdogan underscored Ankara’s "great importance" regarding the full execution of the ceasefire and integration agreements. He noted that Turkish intelligence and diplomatic channels are maintaining a "close watch" on the process, working in tandem with both U.S. officials and the authorities in Damascus.
While the primary focus of the discussion was the Syria ceasefire and the Gaza "Board of Peace," the Turkish presidency included that the two leaders discussed "bilateral relations, particularly in the defense industry as President Erdogan emphasized Türkiye's intent to "advance relations in all areas."
While the discussion officially prioritized regional ceasefires and the "Board of Peace," the inclusion of defense industry cooperation in the Turkish readout underscores Erdogan’s hope that Trump’s transactional brand of diplomacy will finally resolve the F-16 modernization bottleneck and the frozen status of purchased F-35s.
The phone call comes following the United States' move regarding the YPG in Syria, the biggest source of friction in relations between the two countries in the last decade.
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