During the inauguration of Trump Tower in Istanbul in 2012, Trump told the people of Turkey that they had a leader who was "highly respected" by the world.

"He is a good person and is fulfilling his role as the representative of the country," billionaire Donald Trump mentioned Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then the Prime Minister of Turkey, at the inauguration of the tower.

After becoming US President, Trump openly praised the tough leadership style of his Turkish counterpart, calling Erdogan "a friend" and "extremely outstanding leader".

"The two leaders are sympathetic to each other because they both have a tough style," explained Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Studies Program at the Near East Policy Institute in Washington.

However, unlike Trump's favor for Erdogan, who is expected to go to the White House on November 13, the governments of the two countries are deeply contradictory on a series of issues.

"The Trump-Erdogan friendship is currently the only good thing in the relationship between the United States and Turkey. The mutual trust between the governments of the two countries has eroded. Ankara is quite angry with Washington and vice versa." again, "Cagaptay said.

Relations between the two countries fell into a new spiral of crisis last month after Turkey launched the Spring Peace campaign in northeastern Syria to attack Kurdish militia (YPG), a US ally in the fight against rebellion. Self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) troops. The campaign comes after Trump abruptly withdrew his troops from Syria to "give ground" to Ankara, a move considered betrayal of the Kurdish ally.

A few months earlier, the United States was powerless when Turkey decided to buy S-400 air defense systems from Russia, despite sanctions threats from Washington. .

Washington has removed Ankara from the F-35 fighter program in response, but has not yet imposed any sanctions, even after Turkey has received two S-400 complexes. This angered the US congress and rage deepened following Turkey's military campaign in Syria.

The US House of Representatives last month passed Turkey's sanctions package for Syria, while key members of the Senate, including Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump's close ally, also called for a statement. through sanctions if Ankara jeopardizes the Kurds.

The US House of Representatives also voted in favor of a resolution recognizing the Ottoman massacre of the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century as genocide, a move that made Turkey angry. A number of bipartisan MPs in the House of Representatives on 11 November also wrote a letter asking Trump to withdraw Erdogan's invitation to the White House.

US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien also acknowledged the threat from Turkey. "If they do not abandon the S-400 deal, it is likely that sanctions will be imposed. Turkey will be affected by this sanctions," he told CBS News on November 10.

Washington's key goal in the meeting between the two leaders on November 13 was to persuade Erdogan to abandon plans to use the S-400 missiles and agree to a permanent ceasefire in Syria, a senior US official said. the name indicates. If the Turkish president agrees, Washington could allow Ankara to return to the F-35 program and propose a $ 100 billion trade deal.

On Ankara's side, it wants Washington to address the request to extradite the cleric Fethullah Gulen, who allegedly organized a failed coup in Turkey in 2016 to overthrow Erdogan. The US's accusation of Turkish state bank Halkbank to violate sanctions on Iran also made Ankara dissatisfied.

Fahrettin Altun, Erdogan's communications director, also said on Monday that he was upset about the situation in Syria when he wrote on Twitter that the US should stop supporting the Kurdish militia. However, senior US officials revealed that the Trump administration will maintain its relationship with the force.

"The presence of American troops in the Syrian oil fields is in contrast to the two sides' unanimous views. Washington's support of the Kurds is one of the greatest threats to bilateral relations in the coming period. This topic will be seriously emphasized during President Erdogan's visit to the US ", an unnamed Turkish official said.

However, the official added that despite the disagreements, Ankara expressed its hope to improve relations with Washington, expressed by a warm conversation between the two leaders last week. "With Trump's personal support, I believe the visit will contribute to fixing the problems," the official said.

"We have the same views as President Trump in resolving conflicts, improving bilateral relations and making significant progress despite the difficulties," Erdogan said ahead of his flight to Washington on 12 / 11.