Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he received a personal promise from Donald Trump about F-35 fighter jets and...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he received a personal promise from Donald Trump about F-35 fighter jets and is waiting for it to be honored. Speaking in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic airing Sunday, Erdogan said Turkey is counting on Trump to follow through after the US president, standing alongside Erdogan at last month's NATO summit in Ankara, said F-35 re-entry was "something we would certainly consider." Trump also pledged to lift the CAATSA sanctions imposed on Turkey in December 2020 over its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system. Turkey was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 after acquiring the S-400, which Washington argued posed a risk to the stealth aircraft's classified technology. Any sale still faces resistance in Congress, and a 2020 law explicitly bars the Pentagon from transferring F-35s to Turkey as long as it retains the S-400. Erdogan also commented on the Mecca Defense Agreement, signed last Friday by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. The pact commits all three to treat an armed attack on any one of them as an attack on all, a clause analysts have compared to NATO's Article 5. Erdogan called Egypt's eventual inclusion "possible," describing the agreement as open to new members, though Pakistani officials have cautioned against reading it as equivalent to NATO or as directed at any single country. On regional conflicts, Erdogan said Turkey "cannot leave Gaza alone" and will do whatever is necessary to support it. He characterized Hamas as acting in good faith while accusing Israel of continuing the war. He also raised Lebanon's ongoing situation directly with Trump during the latter's recent visit to Turkey, pressing Washington on its role in ending the fighting. Regarding the European Union, Erdogan said Brussels no longer appears willing to accept Turkey, and declared that membership is no longer a priority for Ankara, adding that Europe would be "the loser." #Turkey #NATO #F35