By Humeyra Pamuk
ANKARA, July 6 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to throw his support behind the potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey during a visit to Ankara, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, even as legal and congressional hurdles have yet to be fully resolved.
The move would be the biggest gesture yet from Trump – who is traveling to Ankara to attend a NATO summit – to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whom he regularly praises and sees as a close ally. The two countries have enjoyed warmer ties since Trump returned to office last year.
Despite the warm relationship, Turkey’s 2019 acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defense system has remained a sore spot in bilateral ties. In response to Turkey’s purchase, Washington in 2020 imposed sanctions on a major Turkish defense company and removed Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter jet program, where Ankara was also a production partner.
Congress also passed a law prohibiting any F-35 sales to Turkey as long as Ankara retained the S-400s, saying the Russian system posed a security risk to U.S.-made combat aircraft. Currently, the U.S. law does not permit Turkey to operate or possess the S-400 system if it wishes to rejoin the F-35 program.
One solution that has in recent weeks gained traction is to send the Russian system to a third country, although an agreement on this has yet to be sealed, according to the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. It was unclear if such a move would be accepted by Russia, which requires end-user obligations in weapons sales.
The New York Times first reported the possible F-35 decision. The White House and the Turkish Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. embassy in Ankara did not immediately comment.
“MAKE THEM VERY HAPPY”
When Trump was asked late last month by reporters if he would have any “gifts” for Turkey, he said: “I’m going to probably do something that will make them very happy.”
Speaking alongside Trump, Vice President JD Vance said a review was underway to see if Turkey had complied with the U.S. laws so that it could receive the F-35 fighter jets.
“Pete and the entire team are reviewing this right now, because there are certain things that we have to certify have happened … in order to comply with American law,” he said, referring to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said last week that Erdogan and Trump share a “strong political will” to remove U.S. sanctions imposed on Turkey, though they declined to lay out a timetable.
In December, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said the warm ties between the two leaders helped the sides hold “the most fruitful conversations we have had on this topic in nearly a decade.”
Trump would face opposition to such a move at home and abroad.
In an interview on Monday on Fox News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he opposed any U.S. military sales to Turkey.
“I don’t think they should be given F-35s or the engines for their fighter jets,” he said, warning that the move could “upset the power balance in the Middle East.”
The news comes just a few weeks after the Trump administration formally notified Congress of its intention to sell dozens of jet engines worth more than $700 million for Turkey’s first indigenous combat jet, called KAAN. Some lawmakers from the U.S. Congress have raised objections, but the administration chose to go ahead with the sale anyway.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Ankara and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry and Thomas Derpinghaus)
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