U.S. President Donald Trump may signal support for restoring Türkiye’s access to the F-35 fighter jet program during his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara, the New York Times reported on July 6.
The newspaper, citing four senior administration officials, said Trump was expected at least to indicate his intention to move forward with providing the aircraft to Türkiye.
It remained unclear when such a step could be taken or how the administration would address congressional and legal restrictions, the report said.
The Times noted that any move could face opposition in Congress, which has previously restricted the sale of F-35s to Türkiye unless the administration determines that Ankara no longer possesses the Russian-made S-400 air defense system.
Last month, Trump said he was likely to take a step that would make Erdoğan “very happy” when asked about Ankara’s requests for F-35 fighter jets and jet engines.
The United States suspended Türkiye from the F-35 program in 2019 over Ankara’s purchase of the S-400 system, arguing that the Russian system could endanger the fighter jets and was incompatible with NATO systems.
Türkiye has repeatedly rejected that argument, saying there is no conflict between the two systems and proposing a technical commission to examine the issue.
Ankara also says it fulfilled its obligations under the F-35 program and maintains that acquiring the aircraft would strengthen both Türkiye and NATO.
Trump departed the White House late on July 6 for Ankara, where he will attend the NATO summit and hold a bilateral meeting with Erdoğan.
The two leaders are expected to discuss Türkiye-U.S. relations, including defense, trade and investment, according to Türkiye’s Communications Director Burhanettin Duran.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in Ankara on July 7 afternoon and be welcomed by Erdoğan in a state arrival ceremony.
He is also expected to attend the NATO leaders’ dinner before joining the summit session and family photo on July 8.
The White House said Trump is scheduled to hold separate meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa during his Ankara visit.
The two-day gathering comes a year after NATO members pledged to ramp up security-related spending to five percent of GDP under pressure from the U.S. leader.
NATO chief Mark Rutte insists European countries are "delivering" on their promise by bolstering military budgets and moving to take more responsibility for the defence of their continent in the face of Russia.
"Just one year later, we already see transformational progress," Rutte told journalists in Ankara on the eve of the summit.
In a bid to impress Trump, NATO has lined up a series of headline-grabbing figures.
At an industry forum on July 7 ahead of the main summit, leaders are set to unveil new arms deals worth tens of billions to show Trump they're delivering on their words.
Underscoring that push, Canada announced on July 6 that it had selected Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems to build its new fleet of submarines, a multi-billion-dollar programme Ottawa framed as part of a broader effort to deepen defense ties with European NATO allies.
But Trump - still smarting after European countries imposed restrictions on U.S. forces using bases to attack Iran - has spent the run-up to the summit slamming allies for not moving fast enough for his liking.
"Ridiculous for the U.S.A. to continue along this one-sided path when the relationship is not reciprocal. They were not there for us!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social last week.
