Trump Says US Will Lift Turkey Sanctions and Consider Restoring F-35 Access
US President Donald Trump said the United States intends to lift sanctions on Turkey and will consider allowing Ankara to rejoin the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II programme.
Speaking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara ahead of the NATO summit, Trump described the F-35 as “the best plane” and said restoring Turkey’s access was under consideration.
Trump also announced that Washington would remove sanctions imposed on Turkey in 2020 over its purchase of the Russian S-400 Triumf missile system, saying the US “doesn’t want to sanction friends.”
Erdoğan welcomed the remarks, saying he believed Trump would honor his commitment and help resolve the long-running dispute over sanctions and the F-35 programme.
