Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan invites Donald Trump to Turkey: Turkish media

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (photo by AFP)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has invited the United States President-elect Donald Trump to his country.

Turkish Hürriyet daily on Sunday cited Erdogan as saying that had called and congratulated Trump on the night of the latter’s victory in the US presidential election.

“I congratulated him on the first night he was elected. He will take over the duty of the presidency on January 20, 2017. We can also meet before this date if possible,” Erdogan told journalists on the plane while returning from a visit to Belarus.

“I said during the phone call that we would be pleased to meet reciprocally as soon as possible. I remarked that we would be pleased if Turkey is one of his first visits abroad. He responded positively,” the Turkish president said.

He said the raucous protests underway across the US against Trump would gradually wind down.

“These demonstrations against Trump are temporary, in my opinion. I will not be surprised if the group that is protesting Trump, falls in line to get an appointment from him,” he said.

Erdogan also said he believed that the two had convergent views concerning Syria.

“For instance, the no-fly zone issue is very important. They (Trump’s team) have similar opinions on this issue,” he said, referring to Ankara’s longtime advocacy of the creation of a “buffer zone” some kilometers inside Syria near the Turkish border.

The Turkish government has been accused of assisting extremist militants fighting the Syrian government, including the terrorist group of Daesh. It has also been wary of the Kurdish forces fighting Daesh in Syria and Iraq.

Kurdish and other protesters hold a banner depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a protest in Cologne, Germany, November 12, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Erdogan’s speculation about a Trump administration policy toward Syria comes despite the fact that the American president-elect has voiced a viewpoint different from those of governments hostile to Damascus, including Turkey.

“I’ve had an opposite view of many people regarding Syria. My attitude was you’re fighting Syria, Syria is fighting Isis, and you have to get rid of Isis,” Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday, using an English acronym for Daesh.

He said he may consider cutting US military help to the “moderate” militants fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “We have no idea who those people are,” he said.

Turkey has been hitting the Kurdish forces in both Iraq and Syria, a move Trump is likely to disapprove of given his apparent the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend approach toward Syria. The American president-elect has said he does not “like” President Assad.