US President Donald Trump says he is considering selling top-end F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, speaking during a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We’re thinking about it very seriously,” Trump says when asked about an F-35 deal for Turkey as he met Netanyahu at the US leader’s Florida club.
The United States booted Turkey from development of the F-35, a top-of-the-line stealth plane, in 2019 after the NATO ally went ahead with purchases of missile defense from Russia.
Trump, however, has warm relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despite the veteran Islamist-rooted leader’s fiery denunciations of Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Israel has expressed concern in the past over the potential sale of the advanced F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and other nearby countries, as it is anxious to preserve its qualitative military edge in the region.
Asked about the potential for conflict between Israel and Turkey, Trump calls Erdogan “a very good friend.”
“I promise they’ll never use them on [Israel],” Trump says while walking out of the room. “We’re not going have a problem.”
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