On the first day of the annual North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Ankara, Turkey, President Donald Trump said he would consider selling American F-35 fighter jets and lifting some economic sanctions placed on the host nation.
"It's a decision we're going to make," Trump said alongside Turkish President Recep Erdogan at the Turkish presidential compound.
“We have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal,” Trump said, throwing a jab at the U.S.’s NATO Allies.
U.S.'s Ban on Turkey Following Russian Ties
Since 2017, the U.S. and Turkey have been engaged in a political impasse following Erdoğan’s approved purchase of Russian military air-defense technology, known as S-400.
That same year, President Trump signed into law the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). This federal law imposed economic sanctions on foreign powers engaging in business with Iran, Russia, and North Korea.
In 2019, President Trump also signed the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contained a section removing and prohibiting Ankara from the fighter jet program.
Section 1245 of NDAA FY20 stipulated that U.S. Secretaries of Defense and State must certify that Turkey no longer possesses Russian military technology and provide assurances that the foreign nation will never seek to acquire it in the future.
Secretaries Are Officially Reviewing
During a recent Oval Office meeting with President Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Vice President JD Vance reportedly confirmed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Defense Department were reviewing the Turkish purchase of American F-35 fighters.
"It's time to do that. Okay? We don't want to sanction friends. It's very simple,” President Trump affirmed.
President Trump also confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are also working on the matter.
