US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is considering a deal to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who strongly opposes it.
Turkey was excluded from the F-35 fighter development program during Trump's first presidential term due to its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system.
Washington also prevented Turkey from buying F-35 aircraft, claiming that the presence of the S-400 system allows Russia to gather information about the capabilities of these aircraft. Nevertheless, Trump has good relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Trump responded to a question about the deal to sell F-35 aircraft to Turkey during his meeting with Netanyahu in Florida by saying, "We are seriously considering it."
In response to a question about the possibility of conflict between Israel and Turkey, Trump described Erdogan as a "very good friend," and added, "There will be no problem. Nothing will happen."
Trump also approved in his first term the sale of F-35 aircraft to the UAE after it recognized Israel.
He finally gave approval for the sale of F-35 aircraft to Saudi Arabia.
In January of last year, the US State Department officially notified the Department of Defense of its approval for a deal to sell 40 F-16 fighters to Turkey worth $23 billion, in addition to upgrading its current fleet, thus ending months of negotiations between Ankara and Washington over the deal, which coincided with Turkey's decision to approve Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The US Agency for Security Cooperation and Defense reported that the State Department sent the official notification to Congress approving the sale of 40 F-16 Block 70 fighters to Turkey and 79 upgrade kits for F-16 aircraft.
We are seriously considering it.
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Trump is considering a deal to sell F-35 fighters to Turkey despite Netanyahu's opposition