Turkey sees opportunity with Trump to weaken Kurdish bloc, acquire F-35
During recent high-level talks held in Washington, both sides signaled their willingness to address some long-running issues — yet failed to address some of the biggest sticking points in US-Turkey relations.
ANKARA — Turkey is renewing its push to rejoin the United States' F-35 fighter jet program after being booted in 2019, following Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s official visit to Washington last week.
Fidan’s visit to Washington — the first since Donald Trump took office in January — signaled a mutual willingness to address long-standing tensions, including diverging interests in Syria. However, analysts say that few concrete steps have been taken so far to indicate meaningful progress.
Ankara is urging the resolution of two key issues in its relations with the United States, a Turkish official told Al-Monitor — namely, the lifting of defense sanctions on Turkey and the withdrawal of American support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which Ankara considers a top national security threat.
“We believe that once these two issues are resolved, a healthier foundation will be achieved in the bilateral ties,” the official told Al-Monitor.
