Ankara, Jul 7: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US will lift sanctions on Turkiye that were issued after Ankara pur
chased a Russian missile defence system that led to the country being kicked out of the F-35 fighter jet program.There are still a number of legal hurdles before Turkiye could be fully admitted back to the US program, but the removal of the sanctions – issued under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act – would help ease the process for Ankara to regain access to the F-35s, a top goal of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and one that Trump predicted will happen eventually.
“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off, OK?” Trump said in response to a question during a meeting with Erdogan at the presidential palace in Ankara. He said Cabinet officials were working on the matter.
Earlier, he said that the possibility of selling the F-35s to Turkiye is “certainly something we will consider.”
