The announcement during the Ankara conference signals a pivot in US policy, despite Israeli opposition.
Published July 7, 2026
US President Donald Trump has lifted sanctions on Turkiye and said he will soon decide to resume F-35 sales.
The statement was issued on Tuesday as President Trump met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara.
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The shift came after the Turkish government acquired Russia’s S-400 air defense system in 2019 and after the United States removed Turkiye from its F-35 program. The US government also imposed sanctions under the so-called Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
“We’re going to lift sanctions,” President Trump told reporters.
President Trump, sitting next to President Erdoğan, said he would soon make a decision on the sale of American F-35 fighter jets to Turkiye.
“That’s a decision we’ll make…This is a great airplane, the best airplane ever, and it’s certainly something we’ll consider,” Trump said.
Returning Turkiye to the F-35 program would require overcoming a 2020 law that requires the presidential administration to determine that Turkey no longer possesses or operates Russian systems.
Meanwhile, CAATSA sanctions specifically targeted Defense Industries President Turkiye and included a ban on U.S. export licenses and financial and banking restrictions.
President Erdogan told reporters he hoped for a “favorable decision” on the F-35, adding that Turkiye had previously been promised five fighter jets.
The meeting between President Trump and President Erdogan came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is increasing pressure on the United States not to resume F-35 sales to Turkiye.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Monday that the sale of the F-35 to Turkiye would “upset the balance of power in the Middle East, which I think is ultimately guaranteed by Israel’s air superiority and also guaranteed by America’s posture in the Middle East.”
The move comes as the Trump administration is at odds with close ally Israel, which has repeatedly threatened to derail a preliminary cease-fire agreement to end the U.S.-Israel war against Iran due to ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
Relations between Turkiye and Israel have deteriorated in recent years, even as the two countries strengthened trade ties ahead of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. Turkiye has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military operations in the Palestinian enclaves.
It remains to be seen how the withdrawal of the F-35 sale to Turkiye will be received by US lawmakers.
But Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, an ardent supporter of Israel, said in an interview with Turkiye Today on Tuesday that he was open to the possibility.
“There may be pushback in Congress, but a solution may be found,” he said.
