Trump says US will lift Turkiye sanctions and weigh F-35 sales
The move would mark a major shift after Washington penalized Ankara over its purchase of Russian S-400 air defence systems.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
US President Donald Trump said he plans to remove sanctions on Turkiye and will decide soon whether to restart sales of F-35 fighter jets to Ankara. The comments matter because Turkiye was pushed out of the F-35 programme after buying Russian S-400 air defence systems in 2019.
Trump spoke on Tuesday while meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara, Al Jazeera reported. Sitting beside Erdogan, Trump told reporters that the sanctions would be lifted and said the F-35 issue was under consideration.
Washington expelled Turkiye from the F-35 programme after Ankara acquired the S-400 systems from Russia, according to Al Jazeera. The United States also imposed penalties under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, known as CAATSA.
Those sanctions targeted Turkiye’s Presidency of Defence Industries, Al Jazeera reported. The measures included bans on US export licences as well as financial and banking restrictions.
Legal hurdles remain
A return to the F-35 programme would still face legal obstacles in Washington. Al Jazeera reported that a 2020 law requires the US administration to certify that Turkiye no longer possesses or operates the Russian systems before Ankara can rejoin the programme.
Trump described the F-35 as a leading aircraft and said his administration would look at the sale, according to Al Jazeera. Erdogan told reporters he hoped Washington would reach a positive decision and said Turkiye had earlier been promised five jets.
The possible change comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged the United States not to resume F-35 sales to Turkiye. Netanyahu told Fox News on Monday that such a sale would damage the regional balance, which he said depends on Israeli air superiority and the US position in the Middle East.
Al Jazeera reported that Trump’s administration has faced strains with Israel as Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon has repeatedly threatened a preliminary ceasefire deal aimed at ending the US-Israel war with Iran.
Congress may have a say
Any reversal on F-35 sales could draw scrutiny from US lawmakers. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a strong supporter of Israel, told Turkiye Today on Tuesday that Congress could object but that a solution might be possible.
Turkiye and Israel have had worsening relations in recent years, even though trade links had grown before the Gaza war, Al Jazeera reported. Ankara has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military operation in the Palestinian enclave.
Trump’s remarks signal a potential reset in a defence dispute that has weighed on US-Turkiye relations for years. The next decision point is whether the administration can satisfy US legal requirements and manage opposition from Israel and members of Congress.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.