• Vows to lift sanctions on Turkiye, signals F-35 deal
• Ankara rejects Israel’s concerns over potential jet sale
ANKARA: US President Donald Trump praised his “chemistry” with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he arrived in Ankara for a Nato summit Tuesday, while hitting out at European allies for their response to his war in Iran.
Trump was greeted personally by Erdogan on the tarmac as he descended from Air Force One, before being escorted through the empty streets of the Turkish capital by a guard of riders on white horses.
The summit comes at a fraught time for the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance, as Trump has lashed out at allies and Washington steps back from Europe.
“I was very disappointed with Nato,” Trump said, sitting next to Erdogan at the Turkish leader’s vast presidential palace.
“Frankly, if it (the summit) weren’t held in Turkiye, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it’s possible that I wouldn’t have attended.” Nato officials are hoping Trump’s strong relationship with the Turkish leader could help smooth over the bad blood caused by the Iran war.
“It’s a chemistry that works between us,” Trump said.
In a potentially major boost for Erdogan, Trump said Washington would consider selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkiye, after booting it out of the programme in 2019 over Ankara’s purchase of a Russian system.
Turkiye has long sought to resolve the question of its readmittance to the F35 programme and the lifting of US sanctions that have soured ties and hampered Turkish defence projects – and has looked to Trump’s visit to break the deadlock.
“Mr Trump has also personally given us his word on this matter,” Erdogan said through a translator.
‘Testing’
European leaders are aiming to avoid a bust-up with the mercurial US leader that could deal a further blow to Nato’s credibility, after Trump repeatedly cast doubt on Washington’s commitment to protecting its allies.
But ahead their main session on Wednesday, the US president was clearly still smarting over the restrictions some allies placed on US forces using bases at the start of the Iran conflict.
“I was testing to see whether or not they’d be there, because I’ve long said that we helped them,” he said.
“Italy turned us down, and Germany turned us down, and France turned us down.” Trump also risked reopening another old wound with Nato when he reiterated his stance that Greenland “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark”.
In a bid to prove to Trump that they are making good on a pledge last year to ramp up defence spending, Nato allies unveiled tens of billions in arms deals ahead of his arrival.
Nato chief Mark Rutte has insisted European countries are “delivering” by bolstering military budgets and moving to take more responsibility for the defence of their continent in the face of Russia.
“These are billions that are invested in our security, boosting our economies and supporting hundreds of thousands of new jobs,” Rutte said at a glitzy industry forum.
Sale of F-35s
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he would lift sanctions off Turkiye and make a decision on a potential sale of F-35s to Ankara as he began a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at a Nato summit.
“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” Trump told reporters when asked about the measures imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
In 2020, Washington imposed CAATSA sanctions on Turkiye over its acquisition of Russian S-400 air defence systems.
Trump was expected to throw his support behind the potential sale of F-35s during the visit to Ankara, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, even as legal and congressional hurdles have yet to be fully resolved.
“It’s a decision we’re going to make,” Trump said. He said he and Erdogan would also discuss trade.
‘Disinformation’
On the other hand, Turkiye has rejected as “disinformation” Israel’s claim that the sale to Ankara of US F-35 fighter jets and components would upset the regional power balance.
Ahead of a Nato summit, Ankara’s foreign ministry slammed the claim made Monday by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The baseless allegations recently circulated by Israeli officials in a coordinated manner and with calculated timing are part of a disinformation campaign,” the ministry said.
Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2026