Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, support us with a donation of any size.

Trump announced on Tuesday at the NATO summit in Ankara that he would lift U.S. sanctions on Turkey and is considering selling the country F-35 fighter jets. Trump made the comment following a lavish state dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whom he praised as a “great leader.” The mayor of Istanbul and other Turkish politicians, civil society figures and journalists remain jailed on politically motivated charges.

“Here in Ankara, and in Turkey more broadly, this NATO summit is not taking place in a climate of freedom. We saw, in the two weeks leading up to this summit happening, authorities in Ankara arrested over 200 people in dawn raids,” says Ruth Michaelson, a journalist based in Istanbul. “There has also been a protest ban enforced in Ankara, and that is a protest ban that extends even to leafleting.”

Repression from the Turkish state has not been addressed during the summit; instead, “something that we’ve been hearing throughout the summit is that Turkey has this indispensable place in NATO,” says Michaelson.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.

Kurdish Women Journalists Who Work Under Constant Threat Have Lessons to Share

We turn now to Ankara, Turkey, where the NATO summit is on its second and final day. President Trump has dominated the headlines by restating Greenland should be controlled by the United States, denouncing European allies, and declaring the ceasefire over with Iran, while calling Iran’s leaders “scum” and a “cancer.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the most recent U.S. attacks on Iran, calling them “absolutely necessary,” while telling Trump, quote, “I’m with you.” Rutte’s comments came after Trump castigated NATO allies for refusing to aid the U.S. and Israel in attacks on Iran. Ahead of the talks, Rutte praised NATO members who have committed to spending at least 5% of their gross domestic product on their militaries, a key demand of the Trump administration.

Trump, meanwhile, refused to rule out additional U.S. troop reductions in Europe. But earlier today, he did praise Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I like Erdoğan. I’ll tell you, I like President Erdoğan. He rolled out the red carpet. He’s terrific. You know, he could have gone into the war. A lot of people are saying — like with Bibi. I like Bibi. I think Bibi is a terrific wartime prime minister. But Bibi said rough things yesterday about Turkey and Erdoğan. And I said, “You know” — I spoke to him. I said, “He could have gone into the war, because he doesn’t like Israel much, and he doesn’t like Bibi much. And he didn’t go because of me.” And this is a military power, millions of soldiers. Turkey is very strong.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I like Erdoğan. I’ll tell you, I like President Erdoğan. He rolled out the red carpet. He’s terrific. You know, he could have gone into the war. A lot of people are saying — like with Bibi. I like Bibi. I think Bibi is a terrific wartime prime minister. But Bibi said rough things yesterday about Turkey and Erdoğan. And I said, “You know” — I spoke to him. I said, “He could have gone into the war, because he doesn’t like Israel much, and he doesn’t like Bibi much. And he didn’t go because of me.” And this is a military........

© Truthout