UPDATE - Turkish president receives Trump’s senior advisor

ADDS WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT

By Merve Ozlem Cakir

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Wednesday with U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior advisor.

Erdogan discussed economic relations with Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, for around two hours in a meeting that was closed to the media, according to presidential sources.

Turkey's Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, who also attended the meeting, said on Twitter they discussed ways to increase economic cooperation between the two countries.

Kushner is part of a delegation currently on a seven-day tour of the Middle East that includes Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt and Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook.

Later, in a statement, the White House said they discussed increasing cooperation between the U.S. and Turkey and the Trump administration’s efforts to facilitate peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

"Additionally, they discussed ways to improve the condition of the entire region through economic investment," it said.

On Tuesday, Kushner met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his father King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in Riyadh.

Kushner's tour reportedly aims to brief U.S. regional allies about Trump's so-called "deal of the century" – a backchannel plan to reach a peace settlement between the Palestinians and Israel.

*Servet Gunerigok in Washington contributed to this story