ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed confidence Thursday that Ankara would regain access to the US F-35 fighter jet programme, saying he expected “concrete” steps from Washington to that end.
US President Donald Trump “expressed a positive willingness regarding Turkiye’s return to the F-35 programme,” he told reporters before boarding the plane to return from the UN General Assembly in New York.
“We expect this willingness to now translate into concrete steps,” he added.
“We are continuing our discussions on this matter. I am confident we will achieve results.”
Turkiye has long sought to resolve the long-running F-35 dispute with Washington and the Trump administration has also shown willingness to draw a line under the matter.
At the NATO summit in Ankara in early July, Trump said he was considering letting Turkiye back into the programme.
“It’s a decision we’re going to make,” the US leader said, raising Turkish hopes the matter would soon be resolved.
The dispute began in 2017 when Ankara acquired a Russian S-400 missile-defence system.
But the move infuriated Washington, which expelled Turkey from its F-35 programme in 2019 and then imposed further sanctions a year later, hampering Turkish defence projects and souring ties.
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