Trump Lifts Turkey Sanctions, Eyes F-35 Sale
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- Trump announced the US will lift sanctions on Turkey imposed in 2020 over Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 defense missiles, telling reporters his secretary of state and Treasury secretary are working on the move.
- Trump expressed willingness to sell Turkey F-35 stealth fighter jets, calling the aircraft 'the best plane by far,' though he did not explain how a sale would clear existing legal hurdles.
- Congress passed a law prohibiting any F-35 sales to Turkey as long as Ankara retains the S-400s, which Washington argues poses a security risk to the US-made combat aircraft.
- The 2020 sanctions targeted a major Turkish defense company and removed Turkey from the F-35 program, where it had been a production partner.
- Two anonymous sources told Reuters that transferring the S-400 system to a third country has gained traction as a potential workaround, though no agreement has been sealed and Russia requires end-user obligations on weapons sales.
- Erdogan welcomed Trump with a lavish state ceremony — the first US presidential visit to Turkey in 11 years — and Turkey's deteriorating human rights record has drawn little concern from Washington under Trump.
Why it matters: Reversing both the 2020 sanctions and Turkey's F-35 removal requires sidestepping a congressional prohibition that ties any sale to Ankara giving up the S-400 — and the most-discussed workaround (sending the system to a third country) is still unsealed and depends on Russian consent, leaving the announcement ahead of any actual mechanism.
