U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday in the Oval Office, alongside the NATO secretary general, that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is “a good guy” who stayed out of the conflict. Trump added that Erdogan “was a leading candidate to go into war with Iran, maybe even on the side of Iran,” because, he said, Erdogan is “not exactly a big fan of Israel, as you know.”
Trump also said Chinese President Xi Jinping could have intervened in the same situation, but did not do so because Trump asked him not to. He said China gets about half of its oil from the region, so he understood why Xi might have wanted to get involved.
The president repeated that Erdogan was “a leading candidate to go into war with Iran,” underscoring the unusual claim about the Turkish leader’s possible role. The remarks were made during a public statement in Washington. Trump did not provide further details about any specific plans, timeline, or actions by Erdogan or China.