Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington the other night for US contacts after his official visit to Hungary, before returning to his country. Meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House yesterday evening (8:30 PM Turkish time), Netanyahu said, “We have good neighborly relations with Turkey. Turkey is a state that has good relations with the US. We want to avoid conflict with Turkey in Syria.” President Trump, at the joint press conference alongside Netanyahu, praised President Tayyip Erdoğan. “I love Erdoğan. He loves me too,” said Trump, telling Netanyahu, “If you have any problem with Turkey, I can solve it. Of course, you have to be reasonable.”
**WENT WITH A FULL AGENDA**
It was stated that Netanyahu’s Washington visit, which was announced a day before he left Budapest, was planned quickly, and Netanyahu’s office listed the agenda items as “The additional customs duties imposed by the Trump administration last week, the war in Gaza, Israeli-Turkish relations, the threat from Iran, and confronting the International Criminal Court.” On the other hand, the Trump administration’s additional 17% customs duty on Israeli goods and the efforts to reach an agreement for the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli attacks continue, were the focus of the visit.
**’WE DO NOT WANT TO CONFLICT WITH TURKEY’**
Trump and Netanyahu answered questions from journalists after yesterday’s meeting. In response to a question, Netanyahu said the following about Turkey: “We have good neighborly relations with Turkey. Turkey is a state that has good relations with the US. We want to avoid any conflict with Turkey. We do not want Syria to be used as a base for attacks against Israel by any country.”
**TRUMP: I LOVE ERDOĞAN**
Trump, answering questions from journalists during the press conference, made many statements ranging from customs duties to the ceasefire in Gaza.
However, Trump’s remarks about Erdoğan left their mark on the meeting. Saying that he has good relations with Erdoğan, Trump summarized the following: “I love Erdoğan, he loves me too. The press gets very angry when I say I love Erdoğan. I told the Prime Minister, ‘Bibi, if you have a problem with Turkey, we can solve it, I can solve it’. Because I have a very good relationship with Turkey and its leaders. I hope there won’t be a problem. I don’t think there will be a problem. By the way, I told Turkey and him (referring to Erdoğan). ‘Congratulations, you did something that no one has been able to do, that no one has been able to do for 2000 years, you took Syria. Of course, you took it through intermediaries,’ I said. ‘No, no, no, it wasn’t me,’ he said. But I said to him, ‘No, it was you, but it doesn’t matter’. Then he said, ‘Maybe it’s mine’. Look, a strong man, a very smart man, he did something that no one could do. We have to give him credit. (Turning to Netanyahu) If you have any problem with Turkey, we can solve it. Of course, you have to be reasonable.”
Meanwhile, Trump stated that he is by far the “best president” Israel could hope to see, adding, “It is an honor for me to be like this.”
**WE ARE TALKING WITH IRAN**
Stating at the press conference that they are in direct contact with Iran, Trump said, “Perhaps a great agreement will be made. We will meet at the highest level on Saturday and see how it turns out.”
**’ISRAEL SHOULD NEVER HAVE LEFT GAZA’**
Saying that the Gaza Strip is an incredibly important “piece of real estate,” Trump said, “I think this is something we should be involved in. It would be good for the US to have a peacekeeping force there, to own and control Gaza. It’s actually a very strange place, but now no one wants to live there. There is Hamas, there are a lot of problems, the death rate is unimaginably high. I never understand why Israel left there,” he said.
**EXTENDED THE ROAD FOR FEAR OF ARREST**
Netanyahu’s plane extended its route by 400 km over Croatia, Italy and France on its flight to Washington, for fear of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for war crimes being executed.
Source: https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/trump-netanyahunun-yaninda-erdogani-ovdu-turkiye
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