US President Donald Trump said he would lift sanctions on Turkey and consider selling F-35 jets to the country after arriving in Ankara for a high-stakes Nato summit dominated by tension between member states and US criticism of Europe's stance on the war in Iran.
“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” Mr Trump said after flying to Turkey for the first visit of his second presidential term to the country.
The sound of jets ripped through the city’s blue summer skies as the Turkey Air Force aerobatic team, the Turkish Stars, conducted a ceremonial flyover to welcome the US President. A 21-gun salute was fired in honour of Mr Trump, who called the capital’s roads “brand new and beautiful”.
The US sanctions in question were imposed in 2020 after Turkey acquired Russian S-400 air-defence systems, prompting tension between the two Nato allies, who have the group’s two largest militaries. The US also suspended Turkish participation in the F-35 programme in a move heavily criticised by Ankara.
“We don't want to sanction friends,” Mr Trump said in an indication of the strong ties between Washington and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “We have good chemistry.”
Mr Trump added that talks would revolve around Iran, trade and “other things having to do with the military”.
US officials including ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, have previously said Turkey must neither possess nor operate the S-400 system if it is to rejoin the F-35 programme, leading observers to believe that Ankara may send it to a third country.
On Wednesday, Mr Trump played down any concerns over Turkey possessing the Russian system. “I have no concerns about anything having to do with Turkey,” he told reporters in Mr Erdogan’s vast presidential complex. “I would say the relationship with Turkey right now is better, probably, than it's ever been.”
Mr Trump said he was considering allowing Turkey back into the F-35 programme, although that would face strong opposition from US ally Israel, as well as from members of the US Congress. The US also has an “obligation” to sell dozens of jet engines worth more than $700 million to Turkey, Mr Trump said. Ankara wants them to power its first indigenous combat jet, known as KAAN, but US politicians have objected to the sale because of Turkey’s possession of the S-400.
Sitting alongside Mr Trump in his presidential palace, Mr Erdogan said the conversations over the F-35 had been long-running. “We have received a commitment for five aircraft and President Trump made a personal promise to us about those. Throughout this leaders’ summit, we will be talking about those F-35s and we will be waiting for this promise to be honoured. Mr Trump has always honoured his promises.”
He added that talks with Mr Trump would also cover Gaza, without going into detail. “We will be talking about the region and how we can achieve peace in the region, that’s why this summit is so important. Hopefully this summit will yield a decision about this.”
Praise for Erdogan, criticism for Europe
Mr Erdogan’s strong relationship with the Trump administration has been a key factor in retaining the US President’s interest in Nato, an alliance from which he has repeatedly threatened to withdraw. He has criticised other members over what he sees as reluctance to help the US in the Iran war and for not doing their fair share to contribute to defence spending.
He also said the dispute over Greenland – which “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark” – was another reason for the rift within Nato.
Mr Trump said he might not have attended the alliance summit had it not been for the host nation, “where my friend [Mr Erdogan] happens to be a very strong leader”, and thanked Turkey for its behind-the-scenes role in bringing about a ceasefire in the war with Iran. “I don't think he wants to see them have a nuclear weapon either, I'm pretty sure that, in fact, I'm totally sure of that,” Mr Trump said.
Nato summit in Ankara – in pictures
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shakes hands with his US counterpart Donald Trump in Ankara, where the Nato summit is being held. AFP -
Mr Trump walks alongside Mr Erdogan at the Bestepe Presidential Palace in the Turkish capital. Getty Images -
A warm greeting shared by Mr Trump and Mr Erdogan. EPA -
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at the Nato Summit Defence Industry Forum. Reuters -
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, centre, speaks to the media next to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. Reuters -
Banners displaying logos and flags in Ankara. Reuters -
Alexander Stubb, Finland's President. Bloomberg -
Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission, in Ankara. Bloomberg -
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper are welcomed by Turkish Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu on arrival in Ankara. EPA
While Mr Trump heaped praise on Mr Erdogan, he heavily criticised European counterparts over what he sees as their reluctance to co-operate in the Iran war. More leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Ankara on Tuesday and are due to hold a dinner and social reception before the official meeting on Wednesday.
“Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down, and it's OK, but you know, why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and they're not there for us?,” Mr Trump said. “We've always been there for them.”
In response to a question about a public spat with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Mr Trump said he “liked her” but her refusal to get involved in Iran “soured my relationship with her a little”.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has been stressing since he arrived in Ankara on Monday how European nations have helped the US war in Iran by allowing flights to take off from their territory, and by highlighting defence spending commitments.
At a defence industry forum running parallel to the Nato summit, he gathered leaders to announce a raft of defence spending planning. The commitments include a multinational drive to buy air-to-air refuelling and transport planes from Airbus, and a four-country effort to purchase as many as five new Triton surveillance drones to add to Nato’s small fleet.
“We cannot continue, as we did, being over-reliant on the United States. We need a much stronger Europe within a stronger Nato,” Mr Rutte said.
Turkish defence companies, part of a burgeoning manufacturing industry, believe their robust supply chain can help a Europe that is rearming, despite Turkey’s non-EU member status complicating financing and integration.
“Ankara will definitely display the capabilities the Turkish defence industry produces to all 32 allies,” Mehmet Fatih Ceylan, former Turkish ambassador to Nato, told The National before the summit.
Beyond Nato, the event in Ankara will allow leaders to meet Middle Eastern counterparts. Mr Trump will on Wednesday meet Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara, with whom he has a “very good relationship”, he said on Tuesday. “He’s done an amazing job. In a year and a half, he's pulled the whole country together.”
Beyond Europe
Turkey’s location – and exposure to both Middle Eastern and European flashpoints – is on clear display at the summit, where side events co-hosted by the Munich Security Conference and Turkish think tank Seta involve conversations on everything from the Baltic nations to post-Assad Syria. In the courtyard of a 1930s palace-museum, Nuh Yilmaz, Turkey’s ambassador to Syria, described Israel as the greatest threat to the country, but praised co-operation between regional countries for bringing greater stability.
Since the beginning of the year, “Syria is in a better place, a safer place,” Mr Yilmaz said.
To the south, the Strait of Hormuz was on the agenda at a meeting of Nato ministers with counterparts from the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, known as the Istanbul Co-operation Initiative, Turkish state broadcaster TRT reported.
France and Britain were expected to outline plans for a multinational maritime mission in the Strait of Hormuz, although diplomats believe Iran's rejection of the initiative makes it unlikely that the deadlock over the vital waterway will be broken, the outlet reported.
Turkey is also keen to demonstrate its role as a peacemaker in Ukraine, where efforts to end the four-year conflict after Russia’s invasion in 2022 remain deadlocked.
In a speech at the defence forum, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated calls for Ukraine to be allowed to join Nato, a move he said would provide “extraordinary defensive capability”. He told European leaders they need “affordable, mass-produced anti-ballistic systems soon as possible – in fact, today”.
Mr Trump repeated claims that Russia and Ukraine wanted a deal – so far elusive – to end the war.
