President Donald Trump met with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House Thursday as the U.S. weighs lifting it's ban on advanced fighter jet sales to the NATO ally.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump referred to Erdogan as an old friend, "even for four years, when I was in exile," repeating claims the 2020 election was “rigged,” despite no evidence.

During Trump’s first term, the U.S. removed Turkey from its flagship F-35 fighter jet program after Turkey purchased an air defense system from Russia.

U.S. officials worried that Turkey's use of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system could be used to gather data on the capabilities of the F-35 and that the information could end up in Russian hands.

Trump started his two-hour meeting with Erdogan by offering hope that a resolution to the matter could be found during the leaders' talks.

Erdogan has made clear he's eager to see the hold on F-35s lifted. Trump says it was a good meeting but he's not offering further details.