Trump says US will lift CAATSA sanctions on Turkey, consider F-35 sale
The US president has announced that sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of Russian missile batteries will be lifted.
ANKARA — US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration would remove sanctions imposed on Turkey under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
“We're going to be taking the sanctions off; it's time,” Trump told reporters during the on-camera portion of his bilateral talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. "We don't want to sanction friends. It's very simple,” he added.
CAATSA sanctions were imposed on Turkey in December 2020, after Ankara took delivery of the first components of the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system in July 2019. As a result, Turkey was blocked from acquiring F-35 fighter jets from the United States.
Trump arrived in Ankara earlier Tuesday to attend a two-day NATO summit, becoming the first US leader to visit Turkey since Barack Obama’s trip in 2015.
Departing from established protocol, Erdogan welcomed the US president at the airport instead of the presidential complex where the two leaders held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit before joining NATO leaders for dinner.
Answering questions ahead of the meeting, Trump dismissed concerns over Turkey’s possession of the S-400s. “I have no concerns about anything having to do with Turkey. The relationship, I would say, the relationship with Turkey right now is better, probably than it’s ever been,” he said.
The Trump administration can move to terminate the sanctions on Turkey, but any such move would prompt a congressional review, giving lawmakers an opportunity to object. The act, passed overwhelmingly by the US Congress in 2017, authorizes sanctions on countries engaging in significant defense or intelligence transactions with Russia. The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act explicitly bars the United States from transferring F-35 fighter jets to Turkey unless Ankara no longer possesses the S-400 system and the administration certifies to Congress that Turkey has removed it.
Vice President JD Vance said last month that Pentagon officials under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were reviewing whether Turkey had met the legal criteria set by the United States to obtain the F-35s.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally, warned earlier Tuesday that the move to lift CAATSA could face resistance in Congress.
“I’m open to it,” Graham told Turkey Today newspaper. “There might be some pushback in Congress. Turkey’s relations with Israel are not very helpful in Congress.”
Turkey’s regional rival Israel has been lobbying against potential F-35 sales to Turkey since the two Mediterranean powers’ ties hit rock bottom following the start of the Gaza war.
Al-Monitor also reached out to the offices of Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, but received no response by the time of publication.
One option that has gained traction in recent weeks is transferring the Russian-made system to a third country, though no agreement has yet been finalized, Reuters reported earlier Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Turkey maintains overseas military facilities in Qatar, Somalia and Northern Cyprus.
The issue has been one of the thorniest subjects between Ankara and Washington. As part of the sanctions, Turkey was also removed from the international consortium manufacturing the F-35 fighter jets and was blocked from acquiring the aircraft despite the roughly $1.4 billion it had already paid to buy five F-35s.
Speaking next to Trump on Tuesday, Erdogan voiced optimism that Washington would move forward on Turkey’s bid. “We had secured a commitment for five aircraft, and President Trump also made a pledge on this issue,” Erdogan said.
“President Trump always stands by his word. I believe a positive decision will be made regarding the F-35 program,” he added.
The F-35s aren’t the only major US military hardware Ankara has been blocked from obtaining in recent years. The sanctions continue to restrict major defense industry transactions between the two NATO allies, including export licenses for US-made jet engines needed for Turkey to develop its home-grown fifth-generation KAAN fighter aircraft. Last month, however, the Trump administration notified key lawmakers in Congress that it was moving ahead with that sale anyway.
This developing story has been updated since its initial publication.
Jared Szuba contributed to this report from Washington.
