Trump’s pledge to lift Turkey sanctions sets up fight with Congress, allies

President Trump is setting up a fight with Congress and regional allies over his announcement Tuesday that he will remove sanctions on Turkey and potentially welcome Ankara back into the F-35 fighter jet program, despite its possession of a Russian air defense system. 

Several GOP lawmakers have come out against Trump lifting sanctions on Turkey without guaranteeing its disposal of the Russian S-400 air defense system, echoing concerns from Israel and its allies in Europe. 

The sanctions are codified in two laws, the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and a provision in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The provision calls for the president to certify the Russian air defense systems are neutralized before Ankara can access the F-35 stealth fighter technology. 

“I can tell you we’re going to be taking the sanctions off. OK? I don’t want him to waste his time answering that question,” Trump replied to a reporter, referencing CAATSA, while sitting next to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Tuesday. 

But on Wednesday, the president seemed to waver when asked about Ankara rejoining the F-35 program, saying he hasn’t made a decision. 

“I haven’t totally made up my mind, but my inclination is to say, look, he’s done everything,” Trump said of Erdoğan. “He’s helped us in so many different ways, and you know who else has been good to us? China.”

Trump’s signals drew immediate pushback from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had earlier raised the alarm against welcoming Erdoğan back into the F-35 program. 

“If you give this kind of radical regime, that admittedly smiles to the president of the United States when it’s necessary, when you give it that power, you’re going to see aggression in its wake,” Netanyahu warned in an interview with CNN on Tuesday. 

Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, convened a meeting with the Greek and Cypriot ambassadors in Washington on Tuesday night, alongside military attaches, Jewish and Christian leaders “to discuss the evolving security landscape and reinforce regional stability in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said in a post on the social platform X. 

The gathering underscored how Turkey’s neighbors view Erdoğan as an aggressive, unreliable security partner despite the country’s long history in the NATO alliance.

Republicans and Democrats — wary of Erdoğan’s deepening authoritarianism, threats to neighbors and human rights abuses in the country — are pushing back on Trump’s overtures to the Turkish leader. 

“Erdogan has aligned........

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