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U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa said he expects Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump to meet on the sidelines of this month's U.N. General Assembly, following a series of meetings in Ankara with Turkish officials, including Erdogan himself.
Issa, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who is not seeking reelection in November, made the comments to Turkish newspapers Hurriyet's Selcuk Boke and Türkiye daily's Yesim Eraslan at a reception held at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Ankara, marking the 250th anniversary of American independence.
"President Erdogan will visit the U.S. for the U.N. General Assembly planned for the end of September. We expect there will be a meeting between Trump and Erdogan," Issa said.
"Normally, the two leaders also hold a brief meeting between other engagements, since a full-fledged diplomatic meeting is difficult for various reasons. So I expect they will have such a meeting. I'm sure they have genuinely considered coming together and discussing our largely shared interests, because our shared interests are truly significant," he added.
Issa said Erdogan and Trump maintain a close personal relationship.
"President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Donald Trump continue to talk. In fact, they probably talk more often than I talk with the president. They have a very good personal relationship," Issa said.
Issa said the Trump administration has settled its position on sanctions against Türkiye.
"A decision has already been made from the president down to the lowest levels; there are no sanctions on Türkiye," Issa said.
On Türkiye's potential return to the F-35 program, Issa said public perceptions of the program's status are inaccurate.
"The current situation regarding the F-35 is different from what the public believes. People think these are just on hold. No, they are not on hold. There is literally a very large order backlog," Issa said.
The U.S. official also said upgrading Türkiye's existing F-16 fleet should take precedence for now.
"Developing Türkiye's existing air power is a priority for both countries. Right now, the highest priority should be the modernization of the F-16s. This will genuinely provide much greater benefit in terms of what actually needs to be done. I want the fact that modernizing or upgrading existing aircraft is a high priority for both countries to be taken into account. This was part of my discussions here. If you follow aviation, you know about the new maneuvers being used with drones. I think this is the more likely model for the future of air power in the rest of the world," he said.
Asked whether there had been progress on the S-400 missile defense system dispute, Issa said the matter had been extensively discussed between the two countries.
"This issue has been discussed quite a lot between the two countries. The key issue here is how this can be implemented. Talks have been held with the United Arab Emirates. Perhaps this is the best solution," Issa said.
Issa's remarks came during a visit to Ankara in which he met separately with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and was later received by Erdogan at the presidential complex, alongside U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack.
The Foreign Ministry shared a photo of the Fidan meeting but did not provide further details, while the meeting with Erdogan was held behind closed doors.
Issa noted this was not his first visit to Türkiye.
"I first came here as a soldier in the 1980s. Then, starting in 2003, I began coming as a member of Congress," he said.
Issa, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is not seeking reelection in November's U.S. congressional elections, with his term set to end in January when his successor is sworn into the new Congress.
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