Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said publicly on Sunday that both Ankara and Washington have the political will to ...

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said publicly on Sunday that both Ankara and Washington have the political will to lift the CAATSA sanctions on Turkey, including the ban on selling F-35 fighter jets to the country. Speaking to CNN Türk journalist Hade Fırat in Istanbul, Fidan expressed optimism on two of Turkey's biggest diplomatic hurdles. He said both President Erdogan and President Trump have personally directed their respective ministers to work intensively toward resolving the sanctions issue. CAATSA, the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, was triggered against Turkey after Ankara purchased the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system in 2019. That purchase led the US to boot Turkey from the F-35 program and impose financial penalties under the law. Fidan's comments mark a significant public signal that the two governments are actively coordinating a path to normalize the relationship. Turkey has long sought both the removal of sanctions and re-entry into the F-35 program, which would give it one of the most advanced fighter jets in NATO's arsenal. If the CAATSA sanctions are lifted and Turkey regains access to the F-35, it would represent one of the most consequential shifts in US-Turkey relations in years, with direct implications for the balance of air power in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean. #Turkey #F35 #CAATSA