Türkiye Reaps US Nuclear, Gaza Reconstruction Deal From BRICS, Palestine Hedging

Erdogan's use of Eastern alignments amplify Turkish bargaining power in Washington.

On 30 September, US President Trump hosted President Erdogan, the first Turkish–US presidential meeting since 2019, following his discussions with the signatories of the Abraham Shield-based peace plan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The meeting effectively secured Washington’s acquisition of Türkiye’s acquiescence to the US-backed Abraham Shield peace plan for Gaza. In return, Erdogan extracted a strategic civil nuclear cooperation memorandum, signed by Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This deal, alongside pledges for LNG imports from US firms such as Mercuria and Woodside, signals a pivot against Russian energy dominance, aligning Ankara with Trump’s demands to curb Moscow’s leverage.