Global Markets
Home›Global Markets›Trade & Tariffs›US to resume military sales to Turkey as sanctions set…
US to resume military sales to Turkey as sanctions set for lift
Turkey’s F-35 pathway depends on a potential restoration to the JSF programme after Ankara’s S-400 transfer concept, while a congressional step remains pending.
The United States is moving to resume military sales to Turkey after President Donald Trump said sanctions imposed on Ankara over its procurement of Russian air defence systems are expected to be lifted, according to SCMP Economy.
Trump made the remarks at the Nato summit in the Turkish capital, adding that he does not want to sanction “friends” and pointing to his “good chemistry” with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also said he would soon make a final decision on restoring Turkey’s participation in the Joint Strike Fighter, raising expectations of a so called face saving arrangement involving Ankara transferring its Russian S-400 systems to a third country in exchange for US F-35 stealth aircraft.
Turkey was ejected from the F-35 programme in 2019, after US concerns that exposure to Russian technology could compromise the jet’s stealth capabilities. In the meantime, it continued work tied to the programme by manufacturing some components.
Asli Aydintasbas of the Brookings Institution said the US and Turkey understanding amounts to a strategic reset in spirit but not yet in practical terms, noting that Turkey is not fully normalised with Washington because the congressional part of the process is still not in place.