US President Donald Trump is expected to tell Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting in Ankara ahead of a NATO summit that he is prepared to restore Türkiye's access to the F-35 fighter jet programme, according to a report.
The New York Times, citing four senior administration officials, said on Monday that the move follows weeks of behind-the-scenes efforts by national security officials to break the stalemate.
The officials said they expected Trump to at least signal his intention to move ahead with providing the fighter jets to Türkiye, though it remains unclear when that could happen, the Times reported.
Details of how the administration would address congressional and legal restrictions remain unclear.
Jets would boost Türkiye and NATO
The newspaper noted that Trump’s plans could face opposition in Congress, which has previously restricted the sale of F-35s to Türkiye unless the administration determines that Ankara no longer possesses the Russian-made S-400 air defence system.
The US suspended Türkiye from the F-35 fighter jet programme in 2019 after objecting to its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system, claiming the system would endanger the fighter jets and was incompatible with NATO systems.
Türkiye has said repeatedly that there is no conflict between the two and proposed a commission to study the issue.
Türkiye also highlighted that it fulfilled its obligations on the F-35s and that the programme’s suspension broke the rules.
Ankara maintains that the fighter jets would strengthen not only Türkiye, but also NATO.
Last month, Trump said he is likely to take a step that would make Erdogan “very happy” when asked about Ankara’s request for F-35 fighter jets and jet engines.
