Erdogan invites Trump to Turkey: Turkish media

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.

SS