Trump praises Turkish President Erdoğan when pressed on delay in lifting sanctions on Ankara

US President Donald Trump said Friday he would “always make” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan happy when asked about lifting US sanctions on Türkiye under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

“I’ll always speak to President Erdoğan. He is a friend of mine, as you know. And I’ll always make him happy,” Trump said when asked what was holding up the removal of the sanctions.

Trump said during a meeting with Erdoğan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Türkiye in July that he wanted to lift the CAATSA sanctions and would “certainly” consider allowing Ankara to purchase F-35 fighter jets.

The US removed Türkiye from the F-35 program in 2019 after Ankara acquired the Russian S-400 air defense system. Washington said the system posed a security risk to the F-35 and was incompatible with NATO systems.

In December 2020, the US imposed CAATSA sanctions on Türkiye’s defense industry and several senior officials over the S-400 purchase. The measures included restrictions on US export licenses and financing.

Türkiye says it purchased the Russian system to meet urgent air defense needs after being denied US-made Patriot missiles and has repeatedly rejected Washington’s concerns over the S-400 and F-35.

The dispute has remained a major issue in US-Türkiye defense ties, with Ankara seeking the removal of the sanctions and its return to the F-35 program.