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WASHINGTON — President Trump confronted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Thursday for defying his calls for European nations and NATO allies to stop buying Russian oil and funding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Noting that Erdogan has said he wants to remain “neutral” in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, Trump told reporters in front of the Turkish president that it was time to crank up the economic pressure on the Kremlin.
“I’d like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues his rampage against Ukraine,” he said. “[Moscow has] lost millions of lives already, and for what? You know, for what? Disgraceful.”
Trump said he and Erdogan would discuss both the Ukraine war and trade relations during his visit, apparently referencing the president’s desire to wean Turkey off Kremlin energy.
“[Russia’s] economy is absolutely terrible right now. And I think it’s — I think it’s a shame that they’re doing that, killing a lot of people unnecessarily. 7,818 people were killed last week, mostly military people,” the US president said.
“It’s such a waste of human life, and so he ought to stop. Putin ought to stop.”
Trump said Erdogan, who has hosted talks between Russia and Ukraine in the past, “could have a big influence, if he wants to” on ending the war.
So far, Turkey has chosen to maintain positive relations with both Moscow and Kyiv.
“Right now, he’s very neutral. He likes being neutral, so do I — I like being neutral. But he’s somebody that, if he got involved, the best thing he could do is not buy oil and gas from Russia,” Trump said. “If he did, if he did that, that would be probably the best thing.”
“He knows Putin, like I know Putin,” he added.
Turkey is the largest single buyer of Russian fuel, purchasing roughly a quarter of all Moscow’s oil product exports between 2022 and 2024, according to the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Comparatively, China — the top buyer of Russian crude oil — bought roughly 12% of Russia’s oil products over the same time period, followed by Brazil (11%).
Turkey also is the fifth-largest purchaser of Russian coal and is the fourth-largest importer of Russian liquified natural gas, following the EU, China, Japan and South Korea.
Trump, who surprisingly declared Tuesday that Kyiv could reconquer all of its territory as a result of Russian economic instability, is seeking to increase pressure on Moscow after failing to convince Putin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following an Aug. 15 US-Russia summit in Alaska.
The commander in chief, who previously pressured Zelensky to make concessions — including agreeing to part with occupied regions of his country — also has been calling on other allies and partners to curtail their energy purchases from Russia.
Trump last month increased tariffs on India from 25% to 50% in an effort to penalize the second-largest importer of Russian crude oil. India purchases about 38% of Russian crude exports — behind only China, which buys about 47%.
