- Trump in Ankara says ‘very disappointed’ with Nato over Iran.
- Trump says ‘US will consider’ selling F-35s to Turkiye.
- Erdogan says he hopes for positive result on F-35 jets.
US President Donald Trump said he would lift sanctions off Turkey and make a decision on a potential sale of F-35s to Ankara as he began a meeting on Tuesday with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at a Nato summit.
“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” Trump told reporters when asked about the measures imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
In 2020, Washington imposed CAATSA sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition of Russian S-400 air defence systems. It also removed Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program, a move Turkey called unjust and illegal.
Trump was expected to throw his support behind the potential sale of F-35s during the visit to Ankara, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, even as legal and congressional hurdles have yet to be fully resolved.
“It’s a decision we’re going to make,” Trump said. He said he and Erdogan would also discuss trade.
Congress passed a law prohibiting any F-35 sales to Turkey as long as Ankara retained the S-400s, saying the Russian system posed a security risk to US-made combat aircraft. Currently, the US law does not permit Turkey to operate or possess the S-400 system if it wishes to rejoin the F-35 program.
‘Ukraine war to be settled soon’
Trump said that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and he hoped the war in Ukraine would soon be settled.
“I had a very good talk with President Putin,” Trump said during a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at the Nato summit in Turkey.
“We had a long talk, it lasted a long time. And I also spoke with President Zelenskiy right after that. I think they both want to make a deal. … I think we’re going to get it settled, hopefully soon.”
Zelenskiy and Trump are expected to meet at the Nato summit on Wednesday following months of Ukraine’s stepped-up attacks on Russia’s energy sector, and Moscow’s massive strikes that killed 50 people in Ukraine’s capital in July alone.
Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he plans to discuss Ukraine’s desperate need for air defence systems to defend against Russia’s deadly ballistic strikes.
Trump’s visit to Turkey is the first by a US president in 11 years. He was welcomed by Erdogan with a lavish state ceremony and both leaders sang each other’s praises in their public remarks.
Under Trump, Turkey’s deteriorating human rights track record has never been a topic of much concern for Washington.
