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Trump signals F-35 shift
U.S. President Donald Trump said he will consider allowing Turkey to buy American F-35 fighter jets during the first day of the NATO Summit in Ankara, while also saying the United States will lift sanctions on Turkey.
“Trump says he'll consider giving Turkey F-35 jets, adds that US will lift sanctions The president continued to lash out at other NATO allies over Iran”
Trump made the remarks as he met Turkish President Recep Erdogan at Erdogan's presidential compound, and he said, "It's a decision we're going to make," adding, "it's certainly something we would consider."
ABC News reported that Trump linked the move to Turkey’s relationship with the United States, saying, "We have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey's been, in many ways, much more loyal than other countries."
The same ABC News account said Turkey is prohibited from joining a U.S. F-35 program under U.S. law as long as it possesses Russian-made air defense systems, and it cited a 2020 Pompeo release warning those systems "would endanger the security of U.S. military technology and personnel."
Israel warns, Congress looms
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN that an F-35 sale would not make Turkey a friendly state to the United States, warning, "doesn't make Turkey a friendly state to the United States."
Netanyahu also said he urged Trump directly not to sell the jets to Turkey, saying doing so would "destroy the power balance in the Middle East."
Al Jazeera reported that Trump said, "We’re going to be taking the sanctions off," and it tied the pivot to the U.S. booting Turkiye from the F-35 programme after Ankara acquired Russian S-400 air defence systems in 2019.
Al Jazeera added that 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, while CNN described Netanyahu’s opposition as Trump was in Turkey for the NATO summit.
Sanctions lifted, next steps
Defense News said Trump announced Washington would lift U.S. sanctions imposed in 2020 over Ankara’s purchase of Russian defense missiles, while expressing willingness to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.
Defense News reported that Congress passed a law prohibiting any F-35 sales to Turkey as long as Ankara retained the S-400s, and it said the Russian system posed a security risk to U.S.-made combat aircraft.
Trump told reporters, "We’re going to be taking the sanctions off," and he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were working on the issue.
The Washington Post said Trump stopped short of publicly agreeing to give Erdogan what he wants most, the ability to purchase U.S. F-35 fighter jets, which many in Congress oppose, as he arrived at the NATO summit in Ankara on Tuesday.
