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Gazi Abbas Shahid
Starting as a ground reporter back in his home UT of Jammu and Kashmir, Gazi has been a part of the news industry for well over a decade. While he finds every type of news engrossing, politics, partic ... Read More
US-Turkey relations: The United States is likely to reward Turkey for adopting a neutral stance and not backing Iran during the recent Israel-Iran war, and fulfil Ankara’s long-time wish of acquiring 5th-gen F-35 fighter jets from Washington, something which has caused friction between the two countries for a long period of time.
Additionally, the US may also relax CAATSA sanctions on Turkey, as was confirmed by Tom Barrack, the US Ambassador to Ankara and Special Representative for Syria. Speaking to Ankara’s state-run Anadolu Agency during his Kemeralti Bazaar in Izmir, Barrack bilateral talks and diplomatic engagement between the leaders of the two countries could yield concrete results by the end of 2025.
The US diplomat said that both presidents, US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are eager to complete the F-35 fighter jet deal, and the US Senate is also looking forward to a “proper result”.
The F-35 stealth fighter jet has long-been a source of tensions for US-Turkey relations as Ankara was initially part of the US’ F-35 fighter jet program, and had made an advance payment of $1.14 billion. The US was prepared to deliver a fleet of six F-35 stealth fighters to Turkey, but scrubbed the deal after Ankara purchased the Russian-made S-400 air defense system.
US considered Turkey’s arms purchases from Moscow as threat to its security and went on to exclude Ankara from the F-35 deal. Additionally, the advance amount was not paid back to Ankara, and CAATSA sanctions were imposed under which US exports to Turkey were barred, while economic and financial transactions were limited.
Tom Barrack said the US wishes to put the F-35 row with Turkey behind, and CAATSA sanctions become a thing of the past, adding that both will move forward on this by the end of this year.
The US ambassador said Turkey has already paid for the F-16 and also played a role in manufacturing parts of the F-35 which proves its reliability. “For the first time, we are seeing a shared commitment between the US and Turkey to act not only as defense partners but also as regional leaders,” he said.
Barrack indirectly praised Turkey for not backing Iran during the recent Israel-Iran war, and said that the growing tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv could have turned into a decisive moment that had the potential to affect the entire Middle East. “We must create a new path in the Middle East and Turkey is the key to that path,” he added.
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