United States President, Donald Trump has said that he will lift sanctions on Turkiye and will soon decide on resuming sales of F-35s.
The statement came as Trump met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara.
The pivot comes after the US booted Turkiye from the F-35 programme after Ankara acquired Russian S-400 air defence systems in 2019. Washington also imposed sanctions under the so-called Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). “We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” Trump told reporters.
The CAATSA sanctions, meanwhile, specifically targeted Turkiye’s Presidency of Defence Industries and included US export license bans as well as financial and banking restrictions.
The sanctions effectively ended Türkiye’s participation in the F-35 programme, despite Ankara having invested in the project and Turkish defence companies manufacturing components for the aircraft before their involvement was phased out. Trump’s latest comments suggest his administration is reconsidering that policy as part of broader efforts to improve ties with Türkiye, a key NATO member that occupies a strategically important position between Europe, the Middle East and the Black Sea.
Although Trump did not provide a timeline for lifting the sanctions or outline the conditions attached to a possible return to the F-35 programme, his remarks indicate that discussions between the two governments have advanced.
The proposed policy shift comes as NATO allies seek to strengthen cooperation on collective defence amid continuing security challenges in Europe and the Middle East. Türkiye possesses NATO’s second-largest military and plays a central role in alliance operations, regional security and the management of migration routes.
The F-35, developed by U.S. defence company Lockheed Martin, is regarded as one of the world’s most advanced multirole stealth fighter aircraft. Before its removal from the programme, Türkiye had planned to purchase more than 100 F-35 jets while also contributing to their production through its domestic defence industry.
Turkish officials have consistently argued that their acquisition of the S-400 system should not prevent defence cooperation with the United States. Ankara has repeatedly called for its reinstatement in the F-35 programme or compensation for investments made before its suspension.
Trump To Make A Determination On Sale Of F-35 Fighter Jets To Turkey
Sitting next to Erdogan, Trump said that he would soon make a determination on the sale of US F-35 fighter jets to Turkiye. “That’s a decision we’re going to make… it’s a great plane, the best plane by far and it’s certainly something we will consider,” Trump said.
Any move to return Turkiye to the F-35 programme would need to overcome a 2020 law requiring a presidential administration to determine Ankara no longer possesses or operates the Russian systems.
Trump’s meeting with Erdogan comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has increasingly pressured the US not to resume F-35 sales to Turkiye.
Speaking on Monday to a news agency, Netanyahu said that the sale of F-35s to Turkiye would “upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority, and also by, I think, by America’s posture in the Middle East.”
This comes as the Trump administration has chafed with close ally Israel, as Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon has repeatedly threatened to derail a preliminary ceasefire agreement to end the US-Israel war on Iran.
Relations between Turkiye and Israel have tanked in recent years, despite the two countries increasing trade ties ahead of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Turkiye has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli military operation in the Palestinian enclave. It remains to be seen how a reversal on selling F-35s to Turkiye would be received by US lawmakers.
Erdogan, for his part, told reporters he hoped for a “favourable decision” on the F-35s, adding that Turkiye had previously been promised five jets.
More to come…
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