(Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan called Donald Trump a "friend" in welcoming his return to the White House, and invited him for a visit despite longstanding strains in Turkish-U.S. ties including some rooted in Trump's first term as president.

ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan sought to reset Turkey's strained ties with the United States by inviting President-elect Donald Trump to visit, and said Trump spoke very positively about Turkey during a phone call.

The Turkish president described his conversation with the US president-elect as “sincere,” revealing that it had taken place while Donald Trump was at a family dinner that included Elon Musk.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that he hoped U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will tell Israel to "stop" its war efforts, suggesting a good start would be halting U.S. arms support to Israel.