In Ankara for the NATO summit, President Trump announces end of sanctions against Turkey – and greenlights fighter jet sales to the country.
Hamdi Firat Buyuk
In Ankara on Tuesday, attending the NATO summit, US President Donald Trump announced that the US will lift sanctions on Turkey.
“I can tell you we’re going to be taking the sanctions off. We’re going to be taking the sanctions off. It’s time to do that. We don’t want to sanction friends,” Trump told a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The US imposed sanctions on Turkey in 2020 as part of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA. The sanctions were imposed in response to Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 air defence system, which the US deemed a “significant transaction” with Russia.
The sanctions included a ban on all US export licenses and authorisations to Turkey’s Defence Industries, SSB, a prohibition on certain loans and financial assistance from US financial institutions and other measures against Turkish defence officials. Turkey was also kicked out of the F35 fighter jet project.
According to experts, without fifth-generation aircraft, Turkey’s ageing air force risks falling behind its rivals in the region.
Turkey has been pushing Trump’s administration to allow the sale of F35 fighter jet as well as new F16 fighter jets and F110 jet engines for its own domestic fighter jet project.
Trump also signalled that Turkey will receive the F35 jets and F110 jet engines.
“The F-35 is not a new issue for us. We have already received a commitment regarding the five aircraft, and President Trump has also given us his personal assurance on this matter,” President Erdogan told the same press conference.
Details of the announcement will be made clearer later.
While Turkey has been hit with US and EU sanctions due to its warm relations with Moscow and worsening record on human rights, democracy and rule of law, geopolitical developments, including wars in Syria and Ukraine as well as US plans to scale back from Europe, have made it more important than ever for the alliance.
Experts see the Ankara summit as a chance for the Turkish President to showcase his country’s strategic importance abroad while tightening his crackdown against his critics.
