Trump says will lift sanctions on Turkiye, ‘consider’ selling F-35s
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Trump said he will lift sanctions on Turkiye and "soon" decide on resuming F-35 sales, speaking alongside Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara.
- Turkiye was expelled from the F-35 programme in 2019 after acquiring Russian S-400 air defence systems, triggering CAATSA sanctions that targeted its Presidency of Defence Industries with export-license bans and banking restrictions.
- A 2020 US law requires the president to certify that Ankara no longer possesses or operates the Russian systems before F-35 sales can resume — a legal hurdle Trump's announcement does not on its own clear.
- Netanyahu has publicly pressured Washington against the sale, telling Fox News on Monday that F-35s for Turkiye would "upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority."
- Erdogan told reporters he hoped for a "favourable decision," noting that Turkiye had previously been promised five F-35 jets.
- Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Israel supporter, told Turkiye Today that "there might be some pushback in Congress, but a solution might be found."
Why it matters: The announcement lifts CAATSA sanctions that had restricted Turkiye's defence-industry exports and banking — a concrete economic reversal. On the F-35 side, Trump's pivot puts him in direct conflict with Netanyahu, who just went on Fox News to argue the sale would erode Israeli air superiority. A 2020 certification requirement tied to Turkiye's S-400s remains a legal gate the announcement alone doesn't open.
