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Trump Says Türkiye Could Get F-35s if It Stops Buying Russian Oil and Gas
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US President Donald Trump said he is ready to lift sanctions on Türkiye and consider allowing the sale of F-35 fighter jets if Ankara stops buying Russian oil and gas. He made the remarks during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the White House on September 25, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
“He does an amazing job in his country. I would like to have him stop buying any oil from Russia while Russia continues this rampage against Ukraine. And they’ve been fighting and lost millions of lives already and for what? For what?” Trump said.
He stressed that such a move would be Erdoğan’s most significant contribution to ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump noted that he could “almost immediately” lift sanctions imposed in 2019 after Türkiye’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems.
“We will be discussing the Patriots, F-35s,” Trump said. “I know he wants the F-35s. He needs certain things and we need certain things, we are gonna come to a conclusion at the end of the day,” he added.
If Trump agrees to restore Türkiye’s participation in the F-35 program, it would mark a departure from his first-term policy, WSJ wrote. At that time, Ankara was expelled from the project over the S-400 deal with Moscow, which also triggered US sanctions on Türkiye’s defense industry under the CAATSA law. Formally lifting the sanctions would require a congressional decision, but according to the paper, Erdoğan may ask Trump to bypass the process with an executive order.
Beyond the S-400 issue, Ankara has expanded its energy cooperation with Moscow and refused to join Western sanctions against Russia following the start of the war in Ukraine. At the same time, Türkiye has continued to balance between both sides of the war—maintaining ties with Kyiv and Moscow and positioning itself as a mediator in negotiations.
In recent months, however, Ankara has signaled a stronger pivot toward the West, according to WSJ. This week, Türkiye signed a 20-year, $43 billion deal to purchase US liquefied natural gas, a move aimed at reducing reliance on Russian supplies. In addition, Türkiye’s air force deployed upgraded AWACS aircraft to Lithuania to bolster NATO missions in the region amid Russia’s airspace violations against alliance members.
Previously, it was reported that US President Donald Trump believes NATO countries should shoot down Russian military aircraft if they enter their airspace.
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