Trump Considers F-35 Sale to Turkey, Plans Lifting CAATSA Sanctions at NATO Summit in Ankara

U.S. President Donald Trump said he is considering allowing Turkey to buy American F-35 fighter jets during a NATO summit in Ankara, while also saying Washington would lift sanctions imposed on Turkey under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

“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”

ABC News

Trump told reporters, "It's a decision we're going to make," as he met Turkish President Recep Erdogan at Erdogan's presidential compound, and he added that the F-35 is "the best, currently the best plane by far."

ABC News

The potential shift is tied to Turkey’s Russian S-400 air defense system, which U.S. law bars Turkey from operating or possessing if it wants to rejoin the F-35 program.

ABC News reported that Vice President JD Vance said Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Defense Department were reviewing the Turkish purchase of American F-35 fighters, and Trump said he was working on the sanctions issue as well.

Trump said, "We're going to be taking the sanctions off. It's time to do that, OK?" while naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Hegseth as working on it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to Trump’s F-35 overture by warning that it would "destroy" the balance of power in the Middle East, telling CNN in a televised interview that "When you give them that power, you're going to see aggression in its wake."

France 24 reported that Netanyahu said the U.S. sale of fighter jets to Turkey would "destroy" the power balance in the Middle East because Turkey has "aggressive aspirations."

Al Jazeera

Trump’s comments came as he arrived in Turkey for the NATO summit, where he was welcomed by Erdogan with a lavish state ceremony and both leaders sang each other’s praises in public remarks.

France 24 also reported that Trump said he had "no concerns" about anything having to do with Turkey’s possession of the S-400s, even as the F-35 sales remain blocked under U.S. law.

The dispute is framed by the U.S. legal barrier that Congress passed in late 2019 prohibiting any F-35 sales to Turkey as long as Ankara retained the S-400s, which the law says poses a security risk to U.S.-made combat aircraft.

Multiple outlets tied Trump’s statements to legal constraints in U.S. law, including the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that bars transferring F-35s to Turkey unless Ankara no longer possesses the S-400 system.

The Hill reported that Vice President Vance said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and "the entire team are reviewing this right now" because the administration must certify that certain steps have happened "in order to comply with American law."

The Hill also quoted Sherman saying the statute is "pretty clear" that "as long as Turkey holds on to its S-400s, they declare that they’re going to do that, it is illegal to sell" the fighter planes.

Middle East Eye described the political and legal challenge as Trump having "no magic wand" to do it without buy-in from Congress, even as Trump said, "We’re going to be taking the sanctions off" and that the F-35 sale is "a decision we’re going to make."

Defense News said Trump’s willingness to sell F-35s was paired with his announcement that Washington would lift sanctions imposed in 2020 over Ankara’s purchase of Russian defense missiles, while noting that the legal hurdles were not resolved by the remarks.