October 29, 2026
US-Turkish relations witnessed a remarkable movement represented by US President Donald Trump making two phone calls to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan within less than 24 hours, in which political messages related to international crises were mixed with congratulations on the occasion of the 103rd anniversary of the Turkish Republic Day.
According to a report by journalist Eli Leon published by the Israeli newspaper “Maariv”, based on Turkish media, led by the official “Anadolu” news agency, the second call came this evening as a surprise, coinciding with Erdogan hosting in Ankara an official dinner for the leaders of the “Organization of Turkish States” participating in the organization’s 13th summit.
The Turkish Presidential Communications Department explained that the American President was aware of the presence of the leaders at the dinner, and took advantage of the call to ask Erdogan to convey his warm greetings to them, to which the Turkish President responded, and the leaders present exchanged greetings with Trump.
During the same conversation, Erdogan briefed his American counterpart on the importance of the organization’s 13th summit, stressing that it would witness decisive decisions that would advance its progress, noting that the organization had become “a symbol of stability and security in Central Asia,” which is inhabited by more than 200 million people. In turn, Trump wished Erdogan and the member states success in the summit.
This ceremonial call came a few hours after a lengthy and more complex first call conducted by the two leaders, which focused on discussing bilateral relations in preparation for celebrating the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Washington and Ankara next year, in addition to discussing several global crises.
During the first call, Erdogan confirmed that Turkey is closely following the ongoing developments in the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen under the umbrella of the “Mecca Joint Defense Alliance,” expressing at the same time his country’s full readiness to play the role of mediator to help resume diplomatic negotiations between Russia and Ukraine with a view to ending the war.
The intensity of these contacts reflects the volume of direct and intense communication between Washington and Ankara at a time when the region and the world are witnessing the intersection of sensitive regional and international issues, extending from the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen all the way to the Russian-Ukrainian war, at a time when Trump was keen to send repeated political and personal messages to Erdogan and the leaders of the Turkish countries.
