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East Room 4:06 P.M. EST PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody. Please. I want to begin by welcoming the First Lady with us, today, and the First Lady of Turkey. Thank you very much for being here. This is a great honor to have you. And we had a wonderful and a very productive meeting. And before we start, I would like to thank President Erdoğan for releasing detainee Serkan Golge, who was in detention — in different forms of detention. And I appreciate that very much. That was a very nice tribute. And he’ll be coming back at...

Earlier today President Trump and First Lady Melania welcomed President Recep Erdogan from Turkey and his wife to the White House. Prior to bilateral discussions the leaders held a joint availability in the oval office. Video- https://youtu.be/Ux0D83iYZ6s [Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Okay. Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to be with President Erdoğan and Mrs. Erdoğan. Thank you very much. We very much appreciate you being here. First Lady, thank you very much. And I know you’re going to go out to lunch after this. Great honor to have you.

Oval Office 12:14 P.M. EST PRESIDENT TRUMP: Okay. Thank you very much. ItÂ’s a great honor to be with President ErdoÄŸan and Mrs. ErdoÄŸan. Thank you very much. We very much appreciate you being here. First Lady, thank you very much. And I know youÂ’re going to go out to lunch after this. Great honor to have you. The border is holding very well. The ceasefire is holding very well. WeÂ’ve been speaking to the Kurds, and they seem to be very satisfied. As you know, weÂ’ve pulled back our troops quite a while ago, because I think itÂ’s time...

The American and Turkish peoples have been friends and allies for many, many decades. President Donald J. Trump  ENGAGING ON CRITICAL ISSUES: President Donald J. Trump is working to advance America’s important relationship with Turkey. Today, President Trump welcomed President Erdogan at the White House for bilateral discussions on a range of important issues.Direct engagement and diplomacy between our nations are essential to addressing the challenges facing the United States-Turkey bilateral relationship.Turkey’s cooperation is crucial to protecting United States interests in the region and beyond.The United States-Turkey relationship has benefitted both of our countries for more than 90 years....