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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed bilateral ties, defense industry cooperation, trade, as well as the war in Gaza and the situation in Venezuela in a phone call on Monday, the Turkish Communications Directorate said.
The directorate said in a statement on X that the leaders of the NATO allies also discussed other regional and global issues, but provided no further details.
Earlier, Erdoğan said he spoke with Trump about the U.S. operation that resulted in Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro being seized in Caracas and transferred to the U.S.
“Any attack on the sovereignty of the people and any violation of international law will generate serious complications within the international order,” Erdogan said he told Trump.
“Venezuela must not descend into chaos or instability,” he added in comments to Turkish television after a cabinet meeting.
After months of threats and pressure tactics, U.S. forces on Saturday bombed the Venezuelan capital and toppled Maduro, ending 12 years of his rule.
Maduro pleaded not guilty in a New York court on Monday to drug trafficking charges.
“When force prevails over law, instability, crises, and conflicts ensue,” Erdoğan warned.
“We strive to act in the best interests of Türkiye and the friendly Venezuelan people. Mr. Maduro and the Venezuelan people have repeatedly demonstrated their friendship toward our nation,” he added.
Erdoğan later repeated his belief that Trump would soon allow Türkiye back into the F-35 fighter jet programme after its “unjust” exclusion.
Washington removed NATO member Türkiye out of the programme in 2019 and later imposed sanctions on Ankara over its purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defence system, but since Trump’s return to office the two NATO allies appear keen to end the dispute.
In Monday’s comments, apparently part of a written interview with Bloomberg news agency but released by the Turkish presidency, he said Türkiye’s readmission was “important and necessary”.
