U.S. President Donald Trump, after a conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is considering lifting sanctions on Ankara and selling its F-35 multirole aircraft – on the condition that Turkey “immobilizes” Russian S-400 air defense systems, sources cited by Fox News television said.
Sources quoted by the American station argue that during a recent phone conversation with President Erdogan, Trump said that he was open to withdrawing Ankara’s exclusion from the F-35 delivery program, for which Turkey has already partially paid, if it agreed to dismantle or move Russian installations to a U.S.-controlled base. The launchers would be delivered, for example, to the Incirlik base in the south of the country.
According to Fox News’ sources, Trump’s team asked for a legal and technical analysis a few days ago on how Turkey can be avoided as a violator under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Washington’s possible approval would mean a change in U.S.-Turkey relations, which have remained tense since Ankara purchased Russian air and missile defense systems in 2019, resulting in its withdrawal at the F-35 initiative and subsequent sanctions.
The first step towards warming these relations was last year’s decision by Congress to sell Turkey 40 F-16 fighters and modernization kits for 79 aircraft from the current Turkish fleet for $23 billion. Currently, negotiations are underway between the Ministry of Defense in Ankara and the American company Lockheed Martin, which builds the F-35.
Turkey planned to purchase more than 100 F-35 aircraft and cooperated with Lockheed Martin itself, producing fuselage and landing gear parts for these fighters. However, the $2.5 billion contract with the Russians put an end to this partnership, and the United States redirected Turkish orders to other buyers.
Key components of the F-35 produced in Turkey.
Author. SSB
Washington fears that if Turkey were to receive F-35s and at the same time have Russian intelligence-gathering systems, the advanced stealth technology used to make the fighters could fall into the hands of the Kremlin.
The idea of removing the S-400 as a condition for re-entering the F-35 program is not new. During previous negotiations, U.S. officials pressured Turkey to abandon Russian systems entirely, but Ankara rejected these demands, citing its sovereign right to choose partners from whom it purchases arms.
Erdogan explained that the deal with Russia was a response to delays in the purchase of U.S. Patriot missile systems, which Turkey had been seeking for years. Analysts quoted by Fox News note that Trump’s current willingness to seek compromise may signal a pragmatic approach that prioritizes improving relations with a strategic ally within NATO.
Turkey, on the other hand, believes that the Americans changed their position when they learned about the progress of work on the Turkish fifth-generation Kaan aircraft, which was argued by Defense Minister Yasar Guler at the end of last year.
Author. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 license