Middle East — 2026-07-08

Trump Announces Lifting Turkey Sanctions at NATO Summit, Considers F-35 Sale to Ankara

BLUFFormal CAATSA sanctions removal within 90 days remains genuinely uncertain because no credible mechanism for relocating the S-400s from Turkish soil has emerged, leaving Trump's pledge without a legal pathway to execution.

President Trump said on Tuesday, alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Ankara, that the US will lift sanctions imposed on Turkey under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act over its 2019 purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems 123. Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are working on the matter 1. He called Turkey's potential return to the F-35 fighter jet program, from which it was removed in 2019 over the S-400 purchase, "certainly something we will consider," without specifying how legal restrictions tied to the S-400s would be resolved 23. Reuters sources cited by Defense News said Trump was expected to back a possible F-35 sale, and one option under discussion would transfer the Russian system to a third country, though no agreement has been reached 2. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Fox News on Monday that the US should not sell F-35s to Turkey, citing Erdogan's rhetoric on Israel 3.

Analysis
Congressional CAATSA relief likely proceeds within the announced window, but formal State and Treasury action within 90 days is genuinely uncertain since the S-400 hardware remains in Turkey with no disposition plan finalized, and Turkey's F-35 reinstatement hinges on resolving that legal predicate on a timeline Trump has not committed to. Congressional and Israeli objections raise the political cost of a quick reversal, pushing the process toward extended interagency review rather than swift executive action. The announcement may function primarily as a diplomatic gesture cementing NATO summit goodwill rather than a signal of imminent regulatory movement. Confidence is moderate: Cabinet-level engagement is confirmed across converging accounts, but all trace to a single public exchange rather than independent reporting threads, and the absence of any disclosed S-400 relocation mechanism leaves congressional committees overseeing arms sales weighing whether to legislate new restrictions before Treasury and State complete any rollback.
4 sources
  1. Trump announces lifting sanctions on Turkey alongside Erdogan at NATO summit - Jewish Insider
  2. US will lift sanctions on Turkey, possibly sell F-35 fighter jets, Trump says - Defense News
  3. WATCH: Trump says in Erdogan meeting that U.S. will lift Turkey sanctions, consider selling F-35s - PBS NewsHour
  4. Updates: Trump, NATO leaders in Turkiye's Ankara as defence tops agenda - Al Jazeera

View in full brief →

UNCLASSIFIED // OPEN SOURCE