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🇸🇬 Singapore /Elections & Politics

Turkey says it hopes to achieve result on lifting U.S. sanctions soon

From The Straits Times · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed hope for a swift resolution on lifting U.S. sanctions and acquiring F-35 fighter jets.
  • Fidan cited political will from both Ankara and Washington to resolve the issue of sanctions imposed over the S-400 missile system purchase.
  • Turkey may resell the S-400s to a Gulf nation to facilitate the F-35 purchase, a move Moscow is monitoring.

Turkey hopes to soon achieve a resolution regarding the lifting of U.S. sanctions and its desire to purchase F-35 fighter jets, according to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. He emphasized that defense industry restrictions should not exist between allied nations.

Fidan stated that there is political will from both Ankara and Washington to remove the sanctions, which were imposed in 2020 under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) due to Turkey's acquisition of Russian S-400 defense missile systems. These sanctions also led to Turkey's removal from the F-35 program. Relevant ministers are actively working to resolve the issue, Fidan told state broadcaster TRT Haber.

there should be no defence industry restrictions between allies.

— Hakan FidanTurkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's statement on defense industry cooperation.

Two key matters subject to U.S. legislation remain in Turkey-U.S. relations: CAATSA and the F-35 jet issue. "God willing, we will reach a conclusion soon; in other words, I do not think there will be any problems in this regard," Fidan remarked. This follows U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Ankara for a NATO Summit, where he announced he would lift the sanctions, though he later stated he had "not totally made up his mind" on the F-35 sale.

Reports suggest Turkey might announce the resale of the S-400 systems to a Gulf nation as early as Friday, a move intended to persuade the U.S. to sell F-35 jets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Moscow is in contact with Ankara regarding this "extremely sensitive issue."

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.

— Hakan FidanForeign Minister Fidan detailing the key issues in Turkey-U.S. relations.
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Originally published by The Straits Times. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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