WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that the United States will lift sanctions imposed on Turkey, a move that reopens the door for Ankara to acquire F-35 Lightning II fighter jets and signals a major shift in defense trade policy. Trump made the announcement during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential palace in Ankara.
“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off, OK?” Trump told reporters. He stated Cabinet officials are working on the legal mechanics, while adding the sale of F-35s is “certainly something we will consider.” The sanctions, levied under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), were originally imposed after Turkey purchased the Russian S-400 missile defense system, which U.S. defense officials argued compromised the operational security of the F-35 platform.
Economic and Strategic Ramifications
The decision directly benefits the American defense industrial base. Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the F-35, previously counted on Turkish manufacturing for over 900 components. The restoration of Turkey’s partnership would protect skilled American manufacturing jobs and stabilize a supply chain disrupted by Ankara’s expulsion from the program in 2019. However, the legal hurdles in Congress, where suspicion of Erdogan’s drift toward Moscow remains bipartisan, are substantial.
Trump underscored the personal diplomacy behind the reversal. “Sometimes you get along with the toughest people, like him,” Trump said, gesturing toward Erdogan. The U.S. president praised Turkey’s loyalty during the recent Iran conflict, distinguishing Ankara’s cooperation from broader NATO inertia.
NATO Spending and American Leadership
The announcement came on the sidelines of a NATO forum where Secretary-General Mark Rutte unveiled a raft of multinational procurement projects, including a consortium for Saab GlobalEye surveillance aircraft and Airbus refueling planes. U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Michael Duffy stressed the need for “production increases across the board,” noting the administration will seek to boost American arms exports while partnering on European production capacity.
Critics note that Erdogan continues to entrench ties with adversarial powers, and the removal of sanctions rewards a government that previously jeopardized allied technology. Yet for the White House, the immediate calculus prioritizes transactional alliance management and the defense sector’s bottom line over lingering concerns about Russian hardware integration. The move aligns with the administration’s adversarial posture toward Russia while attempting to fracture Moscow’s defense relationships.
“We need to ensure that we are translating our economic might into military capabilities,” Rutte said, announcing a $170 billion EU loan facility for defense.
Congressional reaction is expected to be swift, as lawmakers weigh the national security risks of greenlighting fifth-generation fighter transfers to a nation still in possession of Russian air defense architecture.