Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. [Newsis]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. [Newsis]

US President Donald Trump said he may allow Turkey to rejoin the F-35 fighter jet program, from which it was expelled after purchasing Russia's S-400 air defense system. Trump also said he would lift sanctions on Turkey, drawing bipartisan pushback from Congress over violations of existing sanctions law.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday ahead of a bilateral summit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said he would "make a decision soon" on whether to sell F-35s to Ankara. "The F-35 is the greatest fighter jet in existence, and it's certainly something we're going to look at," he said.

Trump shrugged off concerns that F-35 stealth technology could leak to Russia given Turkey's possession of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, saying he was "not worried about it at all."

He then said the United States would lift sanctions on Turkey. "We're going to be lifting the sanctions. It's time," Trump said. "We don't want to sanction our friends." US media interpreted the remarks as signaling the removal of sanctions imposed on Turkey under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, known as CAATSA, and Turkey's return to the F-35 program.

Turkey was removed from the F-35 joint development and procurement program by Trump's first administration after Ankara acquired the Russian S-400 system in 2019, triggering US objections and the application of CAATSA. Turkey had already paid for the jets but never received them.

Trump struck a markedly warmer tone toward Turkey on Tuesday than he had during that earlier episode.

"Turkey has been more helpful to us than many of our traditional allies," he said. "In many ways, they've been a far better ally than other NATO countries we thought were loyal to us."

He also said Turkey was "a country that bought American fighter jets" and stressed that the United States had an obligation to support Ankara with engine repairs and upgrades.

Erdogan, for his part, said the F-35 issue was "not a new matter," adding that Turkey had been promised five jets and that he hoped the summit would move things "in a positive direction."

According to US media reports, Turkey and the United States are in discussions over transferring the Russian-made S-400 system to a third country as a condition for Turkey's return to the F-35 program.

Strong opposition has nonetheless emerged in Washington.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he hoped reports of Turkey rejoining the F-35 program were "not true," while a bipartisan group of 18 House members — including Democratic Rep. Dina Titus — sent a letter to congressional leadership urging them to block the move, calling it a violation of existing sanctions law.

Trump also disclosed Tuesday that he had spoken at length with Russian President Vladimir Putin and then with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately afterward regarding the war in Ukraine. "I think something's going to come of it," he said.

Trump doubled down on his criticism of NATO, saying he was "very disappointed" in the alliance after European nations failed to provide sufficient support to the United States during the conflict with Iran.

He underscored the importance of the US-Turkey relationship, saying he might not have attended the NATO summit at all had it not been for Erdogan's personal invitation.


sjy@heraldcorp.com