Trump Says US May Sell Turkey F-35s, Pushes to Lift Sanctions

President Donald Trump gave another strong indication that he may soon try to reverse his own ban on Turkey buying F-35 fighter jets from the US, vowing to lift sanctions on the country. “It’s a decision we’re going to make,” Trump said Tuesday, sitting alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara. “Certainly something we will consider.”

Trump said he wanted to erase sanctions on Turkey linked to its acquisition of a Russian air defense system, which spurred the president to bar the country from getting F-35s in the first place. Such a step would face pushback in the US and may even violate the law itself, which Trump signed. The warming ties between Trump and Erdogan is playing out against the backdrop of a NATO summit more dominated by a fraying transatlantic relationship. (Source: Bloomberg)