Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that Türkiye hopes to achieve a result on lifting US sanctions and its desire to purchase F-35 fighter jets soon, adding that there should be no defence industry restrictions between allies.
US President Donald Trump, who visited Ankara this week for a NATO Summit, announced on Tuesday that he would lift US sanctions imposed on Türkiye over its purchase of Russian S-400 defence missile systems.
Speaking to TRT Haber, Fidan said on Friday there was political will from both Ankara and Washington to remove the sanctions and that the relevant ministers were working to resolve the issue.
In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on Türkiye under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) over its acquisition of the S-400s.
It also removed Ankara from the F-35 stealth fighter jet programme.
CAATSA and F35s
The top Turkish diplomat Fidan said there are still two issues in Türkiye-US relations that have to be sorted out through US legislation.
"CAATSA is one of them. The issue of the F-35 jets is another... God willing, we will reach a conclusion soon; in other words, I do not think there will be any problems in this regard," Fidan said.
Two sources told Reuters this week that Trump was expected to throw his support behind the potential sale of F-35s during the visit to Ankara.
NATO summit outcome
Fidan stressed that NATO members should focus not only on burden-sharing but also on building a shared ecosystem.
He said that the concept of burden-sharing in NATO "has ceased to be merely a concept and has now become an implementable policy."
“This is the most important outcome of the NATO summit Türkiye hosted in its capital Ankara this week,” he added.
The summit was an “extraordinary achievement” of the Turkish foreign policy pursued under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he added.
Fidan stressed that the defence industry is now just as important as military capabilities and is no longer viewed merely as a supporting element but as a core component of security.
Fidan added that defence industry agreements within the bloc are "of tremendous importance for the future of our defence industry."
He also noted that resilience is among the most widely discussed topics.
Fidan underscored that NATO's future must be decided collectively by all alliance members.
He noted that every country's industrial self-reliance had been widely discussed, but said it is now clear that no single country can sustain this ecosystem on its own.
“Building a shared ecosystem among alliance members is just as important as burden-sharing,” he said.
On the impact of rising NATO defence spending and the alliance's new procurement agreement on Türkiye's defence industry, Fidan said that if these decisions are implemented effectively, “we will see very positive results.”
“If alliance members come together with this understanding and build a defence industrial ecosystem, there will be no problems either in supply or in market access. That would enable the industry to sustain itself. Otherwise, it would require continuous subsidies, and that is not something any country can shoulder on its own,” he explained.
On the $50 billion in procurement agreements recently signed among NATO allies, Fidan said such deals are “extremely important” for the future of Türkiye's defence industry.
Türkiye's defence industry focuses on technologies and weapons of high strategic importance, such as air defence systems, missile systems, fighter jets, next-generation unmanned aerial vehicles, drone swarms, and cyber capabilities, he said.
“Developing these within a collective framework would reduce the financial burden while strengthening defence resilience,” he added.
Fidan said countries are changing their positions towards Türkiye, citing its role as a reliable, strong, and influential partner.
He added that Ankara would not compromise on national security and would seek alternatives if allies hinder its efforts to develop key capabilities.
He also said "a solution can be reached by the weekend to resolve the differences" between the US and Iran over transit through the Strait of Hormuz in light of recently heightened tensions.
He said that Türkiye is working tirelessly to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Fidan said Türkiye is closely monitoring developments, warning that attacks on commercial vessels are rising and the war is expanding in scope, posing a growing risk to regional security and trade.
