Donald Trump boasts he and Turkish strongman Erdogan ‘have been friends for a long time’

Donald Trump boasts he and Turkish strongman Erdogan ‘have been friends for a long time’ as they meet in Oval Office – with protests outside the White House over ‘betrayal’ of Kurds in Syria

Donald Trump on Wednesday lauded his relationship with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as the leaders started a meeting to overcome mounting differences between the two NATO allies ranging from Syria policy to Turkey’s purchase of a Russian missile defense system.

Trump’s warm welcome of the Turkish president comes amid anger in the U.S. Congress about Ankara’s Oct. 9 offensive into Syria to drive out a Kurdish militia, Washington’s main partner in the fight against Islamic State.

‘We’ve been friends for a long time, almost from Day 1. We understand each others’ country. We understand where we are coming from,’ Trump told Erdogan as they sat next to each other in the Oval Office. 

‘They’re highly respected in their country and in the region,’ Trump said of Erdogan and his wife Emine.

In front of the White House, protesters denounced Erdogan’s visit and urged Trump to protect Kurds threatened by Turkey’s incursion in Syria. One sign read, ‘America Stand With Your Kurdish Allies.’

Welcome: Donald Trump gave an Oval Office reception to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, and his wife Emine, who also spent time with Melania Trump. The official portrait was taken by the Turkish government’s state-run news agency 

Lunch time: Turkey's president Erdogan was given a working lunch with top Trump officials including (second right) Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, and Wilbur Ross, the Commerce Secretary

Lunch time: Turkey’s president Erdogan was given a working lunch with top Trump officials including (second right) Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, and Wilbur Ross, the Commerce Secretary

Protests: The invasion of northern Syria by Turkey after Trump told Erdogan he would remove U.S. troops from the area was the focus of part of the anti-Erdogan protests outside the White House

Protests: The invasion of northern Syria by Turkey after Trump told Erdogan he would remove U.S. troops from the area was the focus of part of the anti-Erdogan protests outside the White House

Demonstration: In front of the White House, protesters denounced Erdogan's visit and urged Trump to protect Kurds threatened by Turkey's incursion in Syria.

Demonstration: In front of the White House, protesters denounced Erdogan’s visit and urged Trump to protect Kurds threatened by Turkey’s incursion in Syria.

Trump also said they will be discussing Ankara’s purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system. Trump also added that the two sides would talk about a potential $100-billion trade deal.

‘We’re also talking about the trade deal … Frankly, we’re going to be expanding our trade relationship very significantly,’ Trump said.

Despite his warm welcome, the two NATO allies have been at loggerheads for months now and their ties hit a new crisis point last month over Syria, after Erdogan began a cross-border incursion against America’s Kurdish allies and upended the U.S. presence there. The United States has also been livid over Turkey’s purchase of Russian missile defense systems.

Turkey shrugged off threats of U.S. sanctions and began receiving its first S-400 deliveries in July. In response, Washington removed Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program, in which Ankara was a manufacturer and buyer. But so far, the United States has not imposed any sanctions.

Turkey’s S-400 purchase infuriated the U.S. Congress. The House of Representatives last month passed a sanctions package to punish Turkey over its Syria operation while key members of the Senate, such as Trump ally Republican Lindsey Graham, have vowed to advance it if Ankara endangers Kurds.

The House also voted last month in favor of a non-binding resolution recognizing the killings of 1.5 million Armenians a century ago as a genocide, a symbolic but historic vote denounced by Turkey. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk