US sanctions on Turkey under review: Trump

US President Donald Trump said he is taking steps to lift US sanctions imposed on Turkey during his first term.

Speaking to reporters during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday (July 7) as part of the NATO summit, Trump said, "We are lifting the sanctions, okay? Now is the time to do it. We don't want to put sanctions on friends. It's very simple."

When Trump's remarks were translated into Turkish, the usually reserved Erdogan smiled and gave Trump a thumbs-up.

Background to CAATSA sanctions

The sanctions on Turkey were imposed under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Turkey was included on a list of US adversaries, along with North Korea and Iran, after it decided to buy the S-400 air defense system from Russia.

In addition, Turkey was also excluded from the US's state-of-the-art F-35 fighter jet program due to concerns that sensitive technical information would be leaked to Russia.

Possibility of returning to the F-35 program

Trump also said in Ankara that his administration was also considering including Turkey back in the F-35 program.

In this regard, Alper Coskun, a former Turkish diplomat associated with the international research organization Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that Trump's announcement is "good news for Ankara."

In his words, this is an important political message from the highest level. Although the administration has been expressing a similar position for some time, it indicates that Trump wants to discuss the issue with Congress.
According to Coskun, in return, Turkey will have to move towards completely abandoning the S-400 defense system.

The issue of congressional approval

Since CAATSA is a federal law, the role of the US Congress is important in lifting the sanctions. However, the Trump administration could argue that the circumstances that led to the sanctions no longer exist, which could open the door to a new interpretation of the sanctions.

The president could also use his special powers to grant waivers. It is not yet clear whether he will take that route or work with the Republican-controlled Congress.

The report notes that Democrats could take control of both houses of Congress after the November midterm elections.

Turkey praised by NATO allies

While criticizing the leaders of several Western European countries, Trump referred to Turkey as a “loyal” ally in the NATO alliance.

He criticized the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain for being weak on defense and immigration policies. He also mentioned Denmark’s position on Greenland and an ongoing dispute with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Trump complained that he was unhappy with Western countries for not joining his campaign against Iran since March.

He said, "I was very disappointed with NATO. Honestly, if the summit had not been in Turkey, where my friend is a very strong leader, I probably would not have come."

He also said, "Western Europe has not treated us well because of what we did on the Iran issue. We did not need anyone's help. They made it clear before I asked for help that they would not be with us."

Finally, Trump said, "Our relationship with Turkey is much better." At the same time, he called Turkey a "trusted" ally.