US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his administration plans to lift sanctions on Türkiye and will soon decide whether to approve the long-delayed sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Ankara.
Trump made the remarks at the start of a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO Summit, signaling a potential shift in US-Türkiye relations after years of tensions over defense and security issues.
The US imposed sanctions on Türkiye in 2020 under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) after Ankara purchased Russia’s S-400 missile defense system. The move also resulted in Türkiye’s removal from the multinational F-35 fighter jet program, despite its significant financial investment and industrial participation.
Speaking before the meeting, Trump said he intended to remove the sanctions and would review the possibility of allowing Türkiye to acquire the advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
“We’re going to take a look at the F-35 issue and make a decision,” Trump said, adding that the United States values its strategic partnership with Türkiye and wants to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
President Erdogan has repeatedly called for the sanctions to be lifted and has urged Washington to either deliver the F-35 jets or compensate Türkiye for its previous investments in the program. Turkish officials argue that the sanctions have unfairly damaged defense cooperation between the two NATO allies.
Analysts believe any decision to restore Türkiye’s access to the F-35 program would represent a major diplomatic breakthrough, although it could face opposition from members of the US Congress who remain concerned about Ankara’s defense ties with Russia.
The meeting between Trump and Erdogan also focused on regional security, NATO cooperation, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and expanding economic and defense partnerships between the two countries.
If the sanctions are officially lifted, it could pave the way for closer military collaboration and improve relations that have remained strained for several years.
