The Latest: Trump to host Turkey’s Erdogan at the White House
Sep 25, 2025, 5:28 AM
President Donald Trump addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
President Donald Trump will hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Thursday as the Republican leader has indicated the U.S. government’s hold on sales of advanced fighter jets to Ankara may soon be lifted.
During Trump’s first term, the United States kicked out Turkey, a NATO ally, from its flagship F-35 fighter jet program after it purchased an air defense system from Russia. U.S. officials worried that Turkey’s use of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile system could be used to gather data on the capabilities of the F-35 and that the information could end up in Russian hands.
But Trump last week gave Turkey hope that a resolution to the matter is near as he announced plans for Erdogan’s visit.
Here’s the latest:
At 11:15 a.m. ET, Trump will greet the President of Turkey. They’ll have a meeting in the Oval Office, followed by a lunch.
At 3:30 p.m., Trump will sign executive orders.
At 4:30 p.m., Trump will have a meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
U.S. fighter jets were scrambled Wednesday to identify and intercept four Russian warplanes flying near Alaska, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
NORAD, in a statement issued early Thursday, said it detected and tracked two Tu-95s and two Su-35s operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
NORAD scrambled nine U.S. aircraft, including an E-3 Sentry command and control aircraft, four F-16s, and four KC-135 tankers, to positively identify and intercept the Russian jets.
The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. Such Russian activity near Alaska occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat, NORAD said. This was ninth time this year that the command has publicly announced such an incursion.
The incident comes after President Trump said Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from the U.S. leader’s repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war.
Trump will hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Thursday as the Republican leader has indicated that the U.S. government’s hold on sales of advanced fighter jets to Ankara may soon be lifted.
During Trump’s first term, the United States kicked out Turkey, a NATO ally, from its flagship F-35 fighter jet program after it purchased an air defense system from Russia. U.S. officials worried that Turkey’s use of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile system could be used to gather data on the capabilities of the F-35 and that the information could end up in Russian hands.
But Trump last week gave Turkey hope that a resolution to the matter is near as he announced plans for Erdogan’s visit.
The visit will be Erdogan’s first trip to the White House since 2019. The two leaders forged what Trump has described as a “very good relationship” during his first White House go-around despite the U.S.-Turkey relationship often being complicated.
▶ Read more about the upcoming visit
