President Donald Trump rolled out the Oval Office carpet on Thursday for Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan—their first sit-down since 2019—praising the "highly opinionated" visitor as a tough ally key to Syria's gains, while hashing out fighter jet sales, Russian energy curbs, and a Gaza ceasefire push.

Trump, fresh off booting Turkey from the F-35 program over its Russian S-400 buy, dangled olive branches on F-16 upgrades and F-35 talks, tying quick sanction relief to warmer ties. "We are working on many Trade and Military Deals... including the large-scale purchase of Boeing aircraft," he noted, as Erdogan pressed for a strategic partnership reboot, calling the jet snub unbecoming of NATO comrades.

On Russia's orbit, Trump urged Erdogan to ditch Moscow's oil and gas, boasting his Ukraine pressure has left Putin land-poor despite bomb blitzes: "Russia got virtually no land after spending huge amount on bombs and weapons."

The pitch comes as Turkey balances NATO duties with energy imports from Russia, a lever Trump sees as prime for U.S. sway. Syria spotlighted Erdogan's role in anti-ISIS wins, with Trump crediting him outright, while Gaza drew vows of tough love: "I have to meet Israel. They know what I want... Everyone wants this war to end," Trump said, prioritizing hostage releases in any truce blueprint.

Erdogan, silent on details, eyed the parley as a reset after years of friction. The hour-long huddle, capped by a joint presser, signals Trump's bid to harness Erdogan's clout as a Mideast-Ukraine broker, though analysts flag hurdles from Ankara's Russia flirtations and Kurdish frictions—tests for any deal's staying power.