President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States would lift sanctions imposed on Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and would consider selling F-35 stealth fighter jets to Ankara. Speaking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump said, “We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” and described the F-35 as “certainly something we will consider.” The remarks mark a sharp departure from the policy of his first administration, which removed Turkey from the F-35 programme in 2019 after Ankara acquired the Russian S-400 air defence system, and later imposed CAATSA sanctions in 2020.

Viewed from Washington, the path to any F-35 transfer remains blocked by legislation passed by Congress in 2020 that prohibits sales as long as Turkey retains the Russian system. Congressional aides and a bipartisan group of lawmakers have warned the White House that bypassing these restrictions would violate US law and undermine national security. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly opposed the move, arguing in a Fox News interview that supplying F-35s to Turkey would “upset the balance of power in the Middle East” guaranteed by Israeli air superiority. US defence officials have long maintained that operating the S-400 alongside the F-35 could allow Russia to collect sensitive data on the aircraft’s stealth capabilities.

Turkish officials, however, expressed confidence that a resolution is within reach. Erdoğan told reporters that Trump had “personally given us his word” on the F-35 issue and that he expected a favourable decision from the summit. According to sources cited by The New York Times, US administration officials are exploring compromises, including the possibility of transferring the S-400 systems to a third country or rendering them inoperable, though no agreement has been finalised. Ankara has also sought the purchase of F110 engines for its indigenous KAAN fighter jet, a sale the administration notified Congress about last month.

Trump’s announcement came as he sharply criticised European NATO allies—naming Italy, Germany and France—for refusing to join US military operations in the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict with Iran, while praising Turkey as “much more loyal.” Erdoğan separately stated that Turkey is working to guide US-Iran relations “onto a constructive path.” The NATO summit itself saw the alliance unveil tens of billions of dollars in new defence contracts, a move widely interpreted in European capitals as an effort to demonstrate increased burden-sharing to the US president. The F-35 dossier now moves to a phase of technical and legislative negotiation, with administration officials indicating that an exchange of letters between the two leaders could initiate the process, though no timeline has been set.