Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he discussed means to prevent a conflict with Türkiye with U.S. President Donald Trump, calling him the ideal mediator.
Shortly before their meeting, the White House announced that Trump and Netanyahu’s plans to hold a joint news conference had been canceled. The White House did not offer any immediate explanation for why it was scrapped.
“We don’t want to see Syria being used by anyone, including Turkey, as a base to attack Israel,” Netanyahu said, adding that Türkiye has a great relationship with the U.S. and that they discussed how Israel can avoid conflict with Türkiye. Referring to Trump’s favorable relations with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Netanyahu claimed the U.S. president could be the ideal mediator to avoid the escalation of conflict between Ankara and Tel Aviv.
For his part, Trump said that he told Netanyahu he “has to be reasonable” over any disputes he has with Türkiye, as he also hailed his relationship with President Erdoğan.
“Any problem that you have with Turkey, I think I can solve. I mean, as long as you’re reasonable, you have to be reasonable. We have to be reasonable,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“Bibi, if you have a problem with Turkey, I really think you’re going to be able to work it out. You know, I have a very, very good relationship with Turkey and with their leader, and I think we’ll be able to work it out. So I hope that’s not going to be a problem. I don’t think it will be a problem,” he added, using a nickname to refer to Netanyahu.
Trump said he has “great relations” with Erdoğan, whom he described as “a tough guy, and he’s very smart, and he did something that nobody was able to do,” referring to earlier remarks in which he said he believes “it was Türkiye” that orchestrated the downfall last December of Syria’s dictator Bashar Assad.
“I said, Congratulations, you’ve done what nobody’s been able to do in 2,000 years. You’ve taken over Syria with different names, but same thing. I said, you’ve taken it over. He’s taken it over through surrogates,” Trump said of his prior conversations with Netanyahu.
Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party’s regime, which had been in power since 1963.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period on Jan. 29.
NATO member Türkiye has fiercely criticized Israel over its attacks on Gaza since 2023, saying they amount to genocide against the Palestinians and has applied to join a case at the World Court against Israel while also halting all trade.
The animosity between the regional powers has spilled over into Syria, with Israeli forces striking Syria for weeks since a new administration took control in Damascus. Türkiye has called the Israeli strikes an encroachment on Syrian territories, while Israel has said it would not allow any “hostile” forces in Syria.