Turkey hopes for progress on F-35 jets after Trump meeting, Erdogan says

By Reuters 26 June 2025, 1:17 pm

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A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II takes part in an air display on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow 2024, south west of London, on July 22, 2024. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey has not given up on acquiring F-35 fighter jets from the United States and has conveyed its desire to rejoin the program from which it was removed over its purchase of Russian defense systems.

Speaking to reporters on a return flight from a NATO summit in The Hague — where he met US President Donald Trump — Erdogan says he hopes for progress following their discussions on the issue.

“We have not given up on the F-35s. We are discussing our intention to return to the program with our counterparts,” he is cited as saying by his office. “We discussed the issue in our meeting with Mr. Trump, talks at a technical level have started. God willing, we will make progress.”

Washington imposed sanctions on its NATO ally Ankara in 2020 over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems while also removing it from the F-35 program, where it was both a buyer and manufacturer. Turkey has repeatedly said its removal was unjust and demanded to be reinstated or reimbursed.