U.S. President Donald Trump, asked on the White House grounds why the lifting of CAATSA sanctions on Türkiye has been delayed, replied: "I love Türkiye. I always speak to President Erdoğan. He is a friend of mine, as you know. And I'll always make him happy." He also said there was "no holdup."


Trump said in Ankara during the July NATO summit that "we're going to be taking the sanctions off; it's time." Washington imposed the sanctions on Türkiye's defense industry agency in December 2020 over its purchase of Russia's S-400 system, while a 2020 law bars F-35 transfers as long as Türkiye possesses the S-400s.

Türkiye’s position on the S-400
The December 2020 sanctions restrict export licenses and U.S.-sourced financing for Türkiye’s defense industry agency. Ankara says it bought the Russian system to meet an urgent air defense need after its request to buy U.S. Patriot missiles was turned down, and rejects claims that the S-400 poses a security risk to the F-35.