CARACAS:&nbsp;Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to the people of Venezuela &mdash; and US President Donald Trump, for his &quot;decisive support&quot; for her country&#39;s pro-democracy movement. &quot;I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!&quot; she wrote on X. &quot;We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy,&quot; she added. Machado has been in hiding in Venezuela for the past year since elections that authoritarian leftist President Nicolas Maduro is accused of stealing. Machado, who was barred &nbsp;from contesting the election, campaigned instead for her stand-in, ex-diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, seen by much of the international community as the rightful winner. The Nobel Committee cited her &quot;tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.&quot; Machado, 58, has backed Trump&#39;s ongoing campaign of military pressure on Maduro, including a major US naval deployment near Venezuela, as a &quot;necessary measure&quot; towards a democratic transition in Venezuela. White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, shared Machado&#39;s post dedicating her Nobel to Trump on her X account. Several of Machado&#39;s fellow opposition leaders, including two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, congratulated her on her prize. &quot;May this recognition be another boost to achieve PEACE and for our Venezuela to leave behind the suffering and recover the freedom and democracy for which it has fought for so many years,&quot; Capriles wrote on X. Trump says he spoke with Machado after White House criticizes Nobel snubSeparately, US President Donald Trump said that Machado called him and said she accepted the prize in his honor, after the White House said earlier in the day that the Nobel Committee had chosen &quot;politics over peace.&quot; The White House had criticized the Nobel Committee&#39;s decision to grant the peace prize to the Venezuelan opposition leader instead of Trump, who aggressively lobbied for the award and touted his role in brokering international ceasefire deals. &quot;President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will,&quot; White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a post on X. &quot;The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.&quot; Asked about the Nobel on Friday evening, Trump did not directly criticize the Committee&#39;s decision, but he credited himself for resolving several wars and said Machado might have given him the award if he asked. &quot;The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today, called me, and said, &#39;I&#39;m accepting this in honor of you, because you really deserved it,&#39;&quot; Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. &quot;It&#39;s a very nice thing to do. I didn&#39;t say, &#39;Then give it to me,&#39; though I think she might have. She was very nice.&quot;

Americas

Europe

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelans and Donald Trump, praising his support for Venezuela’s pro-democracy struggle amid ongoing repression under President Nicolas Maduro

Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado dedicates award to Trump

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Palestinian group Hamas to &quot;move quickly&quot; and agree to a peace deal with Israel or risk further devastation in Gaza. &quot;Hamas must move quickly, or else all bets will be off. I will not tolerate delay, which many think will happen, or any outcome where Gaza poses a threat again,&quot; Trump posted on his Truth Social page. &quot;Let&#39;s get this done, FAST.&quot; He also expressed appreciation that &quot;Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the Hostage release and Peace Deal a chance to be completed,&quot; although the enclave&#39;s civil defense agency said Israel carried out dozens of attacks on Gaza City overnight.

Middle East

US President Donald Trump warned Hamas to swiftly agree to a peace deal with Israel or face further devastation in Gaza, urging quick action while acknowledging Israel’s temporary pause in bombing to facilitate hostage and peace talks.

Trump says 'will not tolerate delay' from Hamas on peace deal

TOKYO: Japan&rsquo;s chief trade negotiator defended a tariffs deal with the US, expressing respect for President Donald Trump and calling him a &ldquo;tough negotiator.&rdquo; Trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa said the pact, which set tariffs on most Japanese exports to the US at 15%, was comparable to a deal between Washington and the European Union. Unlike the EU, Japan did not have to lower its tariffs on US goods, he noted. Japan also committed to investing $550 billion in US projects. Trump had initially set Japan&rsquo;s tariff rate to increase by 25%. Critics in Japan ridiculed Akazawa&rsquo;s repeated trips to the US to work toward a deal as a waste of taxpayer money, saying he should pitch a tent on the White House lawn. Akazawa said talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Trump and others in his administration were tense at first. By his eighth trip, a rapport had been established, enabling the two sides to reach an agreement by July. &ldquo;President Trump was a tough negotiator, but I kept insisting, and he would listen graciously. I have all the respect for him,&rdquo; he told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents&rsquo; Club of Japan. &ldquo;It was a good round of negotiations.&rdquo; &ldquo;It goes without saying that with any government negotiations, there will always be someone who says Japan lost out, no matter what,&rdquo; Akazawa said. The double-digit tariffs Trump imposed on imports from various nations were a blow to Japan, a key US ally in Asia. Tokyo especially objected to 25% tariffs Trump ordered on imports of steel, aluminum and automobiles. Japan&rsquo;s economy depends heavily on exports. Shipments to the US fell nearly 14% in August compared to a year earlier, the fifth straight month of declines, as auto exports were hit by the tariffs. US tariffs on Japanese automobiles and auto parts are now set at 15%, far higher than the original 2.5%. Japanese automakers also produce many of the vehicles they sell in the US in North America. The friction with the US over tariffs has been an added burden for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba&rsquo;s administration. He is due to be replaced as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party later this week. The Liberal Democrats have ruled Japan almost continuously since the 1950s, but they lost their majority in the lower house, which chooses the prime minister, and will need coalition partners. Akazawa brushed off concerns that the US understanding of the deal may differ from Japan&rsquo;s. He said whoever becomes the next prime minister, Japan has an established tradition of respecting agreements, especially those forged with foreign countries.

Japan’s top negotiator on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to reporters at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan

Business

Japan’s chief trade negotiator defended a tariffs deal with the US, expressing respect for President Donald Trump and calling him a “tough negotiator.”

Japan's lead trade negotiator defends tariffs deal with the US

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump praised Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir during an address to senior American military leaders at Quantico, saying they had credited him with averting a devastating war with India.&nbsp;Speaking to 800 top officers, Trump said the two Pakistani leaders recently thanked him in Washington for helping prevent what could have been a catastrophic conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.&nbsp;&ldquo;This man saved millions of lives because he saved the war from going on,&rdquo; Trump quoted them as saying. He recounted how tensions escalated after fighter jets were downed.&nbsp;&ldquo;They just shot down seven planes,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;It was starting, there was a lot of bad blood. That war was going to get very bad... very, very bad. But we stopped it. Millions saved.&rdquo;&nbsp;Trump claimed he used the threat of suspending trade to pressure both capitals into backing down. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;You do this, there&rsquo;s not going to be any trade.&rsquo; And I stopped the war. It was raging for four days, but that was just the beginning.&rdquo;&nbsp;The crisis followed a militant attack in April in Indian-occupied Kashmir&rsquo;s Pahalgam, which killed at least 26 tourists. India accused Pakistan of orchestrating the assault, a charge Islamabad strongly denied while offering an independent investigation. The incident sparked a military exchange that left more than 70 people dead on both sides before a ceasefire took effect on May 10.&nbsp;Broadening his remarks beyond South Asia, Trump also highlighted what he described as his mediation successes in Africa, citing efforts to defuse tensions between Congo and Rwanda. He joked that even with such achievements, he would &ldquo;never get a Nobel Prize.&rdquo;&nbsp;Mixing humor with forceful assertions of American influence, Trump told the military gathering he took pride in &ldquo;saving millions&rdquo; through diplomacy and pressure tactics. &ldquo;It was a great thing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And I was very honored.&rdquo;

US president praises Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, saying they thanked him for helping avert a potentially devastating India-Pakistan war that ended in a ceasefire after four days.

Trump praises Pakistan’s PM Sharif, Field Marshal Asim Munir at Quantico

Faraz Saeed

LAHORE: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed the week on a record-breaking note Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index settling at an all-time high of 162,257 points, buoyed by improved sentiment following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif&rsquo;s meeting with US President Donald Trump.&nbsp;The market rallied strongly throughout the session, gaining nearly 3,000 points compared to Thursday&rsquo;s close of 159,280. Buying interest was broad-based, led by stocks in cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power, and refineries.&nbsp;The positive momentum continued after PM Sharif&rsquo;s early Friday meeting with Trump at the White House, where he was accompanied by Pakistan&#39;s army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir. The Prime Minister thanked Trump for a tariff arrangement concluded earlier this year and invited US firms to invest in Pakistan&rsquo;s agriculture, IT, minerals, and energy sectors.&nbsp;&ldquo;Improved external and fiscal balances under the IMF programme have provided much-needed confidence in macro stability,&rdquo; Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global, told Pakistan TV Digital. &ldquo;Corporate earnings prospects remain upbeat, particularly in cyclicals, and liquidity continues to drive momentum.&rdquo;&nbsp;Irfan Saeed, Regional Head at Munir Khanani Securities, said the record close reflects &ldquo;a convergence of strong fundamentals, upbeat corporate earnings, and fresh optimism after the Trump&ndash;Sharif meeting.&rdquo; He noted that expectations of investment from the Middle East, particularly in oil, gas, and minerals, have further strengthened sentiment.&nbsp;He added that the oil and gas sector has been pivotal in driving the rally, with the recent settlement of circular debt injecting liquidity and boosting investor confidence.&nbsp;The week&rsquo;s performance cements PSX&rsquo;s position among the best-performing regional markets, with analysts expecting the bullish trend to continue in the near term.

Economy

The PSX closed the week at a record 162,257 points, soaring after the Donald Trump, Shehbaz Sharif meeting in Washington boosted sentiment. Analysts credit IMF-backed stability, strong liquidity, and Middle East investment hopes for driving the rally.

Pakistani stock market ends week at record high after Trump-Sharif meeting

UNITED NATIONS: Russia gets the microphone at the UN world leaders&#39; meeting on Saturday, three years into an invasion of Ukraine that the international community has broadly deplored, and a that powerful member newly says Ukraine can repel.&nbsp;Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due to give his country&#39;s address at the General Assembly, four days after US President Donald Trump said he believed Ukraine can win back all the territory it has lost to Russia.&nbsp;It was a notable tone shift from a US leader who had previously suggested Ukraine would need to make some concessions and could never reclaim all the areas Russia has occupied since seizing the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and launching a full-scale invasion in 2022.&nbsp;Just three weeks earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country and the US had a &ldquo;mutual understanding&rdquo; and that Trump&#39;s administration &quot;is listening to us.&rdquo;&nbsp;Trump&#39;s new view came after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of General Assembly Tuesday, seven months after a televised blow-up between the two in the Oval Office. This time, the doors were closed, and the tenor was evidently different &quot;a good meeting,&rdquo; as Zelenskyy described it in his assembly speech the next day.&nbsp;For the fourth year in a row, Zelenskyy appealed to the gathering of presidents, prime ministers and other top officials to get Russia out of his country and warned that inaction would put other countries at risk.&nbsp;&ldquo;Ukraine is only the first,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Unauthorized flights into NATO&rsquo;s airspace intrusions blamed on Russia, have raised alarm around Europe in recent weeks, particularly after NATO jets downed drones over Poland and Estonia said Russian fighter jets flew into its territory and lingered for 12 minutes. Russia denied that its planes entered Estonian airspace and said the drones didn&#39;t target Poland, with Moscow&#39;s ally Belarus maintaining that Ukrainian signal-jamming sent the devices off-course.&nbsp;But European leaders see the incidents as intentional, provocative moves meant to rattle NATO and to suss how the alliance will respond.&nbsp;Russia has offered various explanations for the Ukraine war, among them assuring its own security after NATO expanded eastward over the years.&nbsp;Lavrov&#39;s address to the General Assembly last year was a bitter swipe at the West, whetted with a reference to &ldquo;the senselessness and the danger of the very idea of trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power, which is what Russia is.&rdquo;

At the UN, Russia’s Sergey Lavrov speaks amid war tensions. Trump shifted tone, saying Ukraine can reclaim lost land, after meeting Zelenskyy. NATO accused Russia of provocative airspace violations, while Zelenskyy urged global action against Moscow.

Russia addresses world leaders at UN three years into Ukraine invasion

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration on Friday to freeze for now more than $4 billion in foreign assistance appropriated by Congress. The conservative-dominated court said upholding the president&#39;s authority to conduct foreign affairs appears to &quot;outweigh the potential harm&quot; faced by the intended recipients of the aid money. The court said its emergency order was not a final determination on the merits of the case, but it allows for a temporary freeze on disbursement of the funds while the case continues in lower courts. Stakes are &lsquo;high&rsquo;The three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Elena Kagan saying the stakes in the case are &quot;high.&quot; &quot;At issue is the allocation of power between the Executive and Congress over the expenditure of public monies,&quot; Kagan said. But Friday&#39;s emergency order was issued with &quot;scant briefing, no oral argument, and no opportunity to deliberate in conference,&quot; she added. The effect of the decision, Kagan said, &quot;is to allow the Executive to cease obligating $4 billion in funds that Congress appropriated for foreign aid, and that will now never reach its intended recipients. &quot;Because that result conflicts with the separation of powers, I respectfully dissent,&quot; she said. Federal spending&nbsp;President Donald Trump, since taking office in January, has sought to exert greater control over federal spending and tasked Elon Musk, the world&#39;s richest person, with downsizing swaths of the US government. Among the chief targets was USAID, the primary organization for distributing US humanitarian aid around the world, with health and emergency programs in some 120 countries.

The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to temporarily freeze over $4 billion in foreign aid appropriated by Congress, prioritizing executive foreign affairs power. The decision was opposed by liberal justices.

US apex court allows Trump admin freeze of $4 billion in foreign aid

Gaitty Ara Anis

WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday. He was accompanied by Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir NI (M), HJ, Pakistan&rsquo;s Chief of Army Staff.&nbsp; The meeting, which lasted more than 90 minutes, focused on regional security and trade relations between the two countries. PM Sharif lauded President Trump&#39;s efforts to bring about an immediate end to the war in Gaza and his initiative to bring together key leaders of the Muslim world in New York earlier this week for an exchange of views for the restoration of peace in the Middle East, according to a press release from the Prime Minister&#39;s Office. The PM thanked the US president for the tariff arrangement that was concluded between Pakistan and the US earlier this year. He invited American companies to invest in Pakistan&#39;s agriculture, IT, mining, mineral, and energy sectors. During the meeting, the prime minister described President Trump as a &quot;man of peace&quot; who was engaged in sincere efforts to resolve conflicts around the world. He appreciated President Trump&#39;s decisive leadership that had facilitated the ceasefire between Pakistan and India, thereby helping to avert a major catastrophe in South Asia, according to the press release. The two leaders discussed regional security, including counter-terrorism cooperation. The PM thanked the president for his public endorsement of Pakistan&#39;s role in counter-terrorism and stressed the need to enhance cooperation in security and intelligence further. PM Sharif also extended an invitation to President Trump to undertake an official visit to Pakistan. The cordial atmosphere was clear in the photos from the meeting, where PM Sharif, President Trump, and Field Marshal Munir looked relaxed. Ahead of his visit, security around the White House was heightened, and many roads leading to the White House were closed or diverted to accommodate traffic. Before the talks, Trump praised both Sharif and Munir as &ldquo;very great people.&rdquo;&nbsp; It was the first time Trump had hosted Sharif at the White House since he resumed office last year. The meeting comes at a juncture when the relations between the US and Pakistan have started to take off, following years of tensions. Regional security and trade deal&nbsp;Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif&rsquo;s meeting with President Trump is being described by observers as a major reset of Pakistan-US bilateral ties. PM Sharif is in the US to attend and lead Pakistan&#39;s delegation at the United Nations General Assembly session. The US halted military aid to Pakistan in 2018 following its exit from Afghanistan, and relations further sank over Washington&rsquo;s drone strike program and India&rsquo;s increasing influence in DC. Under the Biden administration, relations between Pakistan and the US reached a new low, with virtually no high-level engagement between the two countries. The meeting, therefore, has set a new frequency for both countries to pursue their new common goals that were discussed today. New York-based Farwa Aamer, who is the Director of South Asian Initiatives at the Asia Policy Institute, while speaking with Pakistan TV Digital, said, &ldquo;Now with trade, crypto, regional security, and critical minerals on the table, there is an opportunity for Islamabad to develop a win-win, forward-looking partnership with Washington.&rdquo; She added that, &ldquo;Washington cares for deliverables, so all eyes would be on how well Pakistan can leverage the current critical minerals potential, especially.&rdquo; Significant developmentField Marshal Asim Munir&rsquo;s earlier visit to the US was seen as a major development, especially by South Asian analysts, following his meeting with the US president last June, which included a private lunch at the White House. His second visit to the Oval Office is even more significant in terms of the changing &ldquo;geo-political situation&rdquo; globally, Farwa added. An Islamabad-based journalist, Anas Malick, who was covering the PM&rsquo;s visit, said that &ldquo;India keeps denying all peace efforts made by President Trump, something he believes has negatively impacted US-India relations.&rdquo; While announcing the trade deal in July, Trump stated that the US would work with Pakistan on developing &ldquo;their massive oil reserves,&rdquo; adding that the US was in the process of selecting an oil company to lead the partnership. On Tuesday, Trump and Sharif had met briefly when the US president and the emir of Qatar hosted a meeting of Arab-Islamic leaders on the sidelines of the 80th UNGA session, which focused on establishing peace in the Middle East, especially in Gaza.

Shehbaz calls Trump a man of peace; meeting lasts more than 90 minutes; accompanied by Field Marshal Asim Munir. Analysts term it opportunity for Islamabad to develop a win-win, forward-looking partnership with Washington.

Trump, Sharif discuss regional security, trade at White House meeting

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Thursday that progress could soon be made toward agreements on Gaza, signaling that talks with key Middle Eastern partners were moving forward even as he prepared for a high-profile meeting with Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.&nbsp;&ldquo;It could be today,&rdquo; Trump told reporters, stressing that discussions with regional leaders had been &ldquo;very strong.&rdquo;&nbsp;He pointed to meetings with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan as particularly productive.&nbsp;&ldquo;We had a really great meeting. I think a lot was determined at that meeting. And I have to meet with Israel, and I have to do that also. They know what I want, and we think, I think we can get that one done. I hope we can get it done.&rdquo;&nbsp;Trump&rsquo;s comments come at a time of renewed urgency in addressing the Gaza conflict, with Washington seeking to position itself as a broker in the region while balancing its relationships with Arab states, Israel, and NATO ally Turkey.&nbsp;Talks with ErdoganTrump hosted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House for a two-hour meeting focused on defense cooperation and Turkey&rsquo;s role in the broader Middle East.&nbsp;The discussion centered in part on Ankara&rsquo;s push to rejoin the US-led F-35 fighter jet program, from which it was expelled after purchasing Russia&rsquo;s S-400 missile defense system.&nbsp;Trump suggested a resolution might be close.&nbsp;&ldquo;He needs certain things, and we need certain things, and we&rsquo;re going to come to a conclusion. You&rsquo;ll know by the end of the day,&rdquo; Trump said, adding to Erdogan: &ldquo;And I think you&rsquo;ll be successful with buying the things you would like to buy.&rdquo; While calling the meeting &ldquo;good,&rdquo; Trump also pressed Erdogan to scale back Turkey&rsquo;s reliance on Russian energy imports, warning that continued purchases risk undermining Western efforts to isolate Moscow.&nbsp;&ldquo;The best thing he could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia,&rdquo; Trump remarked.&nbsp;Despite tensions over Turkey&rsquo;s human rights record and its strained ties with Israel, Trump described Erdogan as a leader respected by both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I think he could have a big influence if he wants to,&rdquo; the US president said.&nbsp;Gaza and SyriaThe Erdogan meeting also touched on Gaza, where Turkey has been an outspoken critic of Israel&rsquo;s military campaign since October 2023.&nbsp;In his UN address this week, Erdogan accused Israel of genocide, charges both Washington and Tel Aviv reject. Trump, however, has urged Israel to remain &ldquo;reasonable&rdquo; in its dealings with Ankara, recognizing Turkey&rsquo;s growing influence across Syria and the wider Middle East.&nbsp;Trump credited Erdogan with playing a pivotal role in Syria, where Ankara-backed rebel groups toppled President Bashar al-Assad late last year.&nbsp;&ldquo;I think President Erdogan is the one responsible for Syria, for the successful fight in ridding Syria of its past leader,&rdquo; Trump said.&nbsp;Meeting with Pakistan&rsquo;s SharifTrump will now turn his attention to Pakistan, where he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Washington. According to Radio Pakistan, the talks will focus on counter-terrorism cooperation, economic ties, and regional security, including Afghanistan.&nbsp;A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that the White House remains committed to &ldquo;advancing US interests in the region, which includes engaging with Pakistan and the government leaders.&rdquo;&nbsp;The meeting, Sharif&rsquo;s first official visit to Washington since assuming office, is seen as a chance to strengthen bilateral relations after years of strain. It follows a US-Pakistan trade deal announced in July and comes amid delicate regional maneuvering involving India, where Washington is still pursuing a trade agreement.&nbsp;Sharif is expected to use the broader international stage to highlight Pakistan&rsquo;s concerns about Kashmir, Palestine, and climate change when he addresses the UN General Assembly on September 26.&nbsp;As Trump positions himself at the center of negotiations spanning Gaza, Ukraine, and South Asia, his back-to-back meetings with Erdogan and Sharif underscore both the opportunities and challenges facing US diplomacy in a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape.

US president said Gaza agreements could be near after talks with Arab leaders, met Erdogan on defense and Russia ties, and will meet Pakistan’s Sharif to discuss counter-terrorism, trade, and regional security.

Trump says Gaza deals on horizon ahead of meeting with Pakistan PM

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine, as Erdogan sought a long-awaited deal to buy US stealth fighter jets. As Erdogan visited the White House for the first time since 2019 during Trump&#39;s first term, Trump called on him to use his influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end Moscow&#39;s invasion.&nbsp;Trump said that he would discuss Ankara&#39;s wish to buy high-tech F-35 aircraft and was ready to end sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of Russian air defense missiles.&nbsp;NATO ally Turkey was booted out of the flagship US fighter jet program during Trump&#39;s first term after it defiantly bought Russia&#39;s S-400 surface-to-air missile system.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;d like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage,&quot; Trump told reporters alongside Erdogan in the Oval Office.&nbsp;Trump said Erdogan was &quot;very respected&quot; by both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and &quot;could have a big influence if he wanted to. Right now, he&#39;s being very neutral.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;The best thing he could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia,&quot; Trump added.&nbsp;Asked when the US sanctions on Turkey&#39;s defense sector imposed over the Russian missiles could end, Trump replied: &quot;If we have a good meeting, almost immediately.&quot;&nbsp;The first Trump administration took the action out of concern that Turkey&#39;s purchase of the Russian anti-aircraft system would end up giving NATO&#39;s main adversary a window into the alliance&#39;s capabilities.&nbsp;&#39;Highly opinionated&#39;&nbsp;Trump, who was wearing a badge of a gold fighter jet on the lapel of his suit jacket, confirmed that they would discuss Turkey&#39;s push to end the long-running rift over buying more US aircraft.&nbsp;&quot;He wants the F-35 and he&#39;s wanted that, and we&#39;re talking about that very seriously,&quot; Trump said, adding that Turkey also wanted to buy more of the older F-16 jets and &quot;you&#39;ll know about that by the end of the day.&quot;&nbsp;Trump, known for his admiration for forceful foreign leaders, has long shown a fondness for Erdogan and is embracing him despite a crackdown in Turkey on the opposition.&nbsp;His warm welcome also came despite the fact that Erdogan is at odds with key US ally Israel on Gaza and Syria.&nbsp;&quot;This is a guy who&#39;s highly opinionated. Usually, I don&#39;t like opinionated people, but I always like this one, but he&#39;s a tough one,&quot; Trump told reporters.&nbsp;&quot;&#39;He knows about rigged elections better than anybody,&quot; Trump added about his counterpart, after saying that they had stayed friends even while the Republican was out of office due to what he called a &quot;rigged election.&quot;

US President Donald Trump urged Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stop buying Russian oil amid the Ukraine war, while signaling readiness to lift sanctions and discuss F-35 jets during Erdogan’s White House visit, emphasizing Turkey’s strategic influence.

Articles tagged with "Donald Trump"