Turkey's Erdogan Has Become One of World's Most Powerful Men—And Trump Ally

 https://www.newsweek.com/turkeys-erdogan-has-become-one-worlds-most-powerful-men-trump-ally-2073930

As President Donald Trump seeks to reshape Washington's foreign policy in the Middle East, the U.S. leader has increasingly looked to the head of a longtime ally who has emerged as one of the most influential voices in the region—and beyond.

Trump's approval was even more notable during an April 7 press briefing alongside the head of another top U.S. ally in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has increasingly clashed with Erdogan over the war in Gaza and civil war in Syria.

As the Israeli premier warned of growing Turkish influence in Syria under Sharaa's new government amid ongoing Israeli military operations in the neighboring country, Trump had only warm words for Erdogan.

"Any problem that you have with Turkey, I think I can solve, I mean as long as you're reasonable," Trump told Netanyahu. "You have to be reasonable. We have to be reasonable."

Thus far, the Israeli-Turkish dispute appears to have remained tense, despite recent talks held by the two sides in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, signs of a rift between Trump and Netanyahu have grown more apparent in recent weeks.

Trump has pursued direct talks with the Palestinian Hamas movement to secure the release of a U.S.-Israeli hostage, struck a ceasefire deal with the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, that did not include the group's strikes against Israel, and has proceeded with nuclear talks with Iran.

This is "despite some obvious downsides," which Jeffrey noted include lingering questions of Erdogan's commitment to democracy among members of Congress and other influential voices in Washington, as well as opposition from some communities with influence in the U.S., including among Armenian, Greek and Israeli interest groups. Ankara's hedging of its Western alliances by maintaining ties with Moscow could also potentially prove complicating, Jeffrey pointed out.

Trump hinted mockingly at such domestic concerns in April, when the U.S. leader said "the press will get very angry" at his declaration of the mutual affinity between him and Erdogan.