US President Donald Trump is considering lifting sanctions on Turkey and resuming deliveries of American F-16 fighters to Ankara after a telephone conversation with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This was reported on March 21, 2025, by Fox News, citing two informed interlocutors. According to them, Trump expressed his intention not only to complete the deal to sell 40 F-16 aircraft and upgrade kits for existing aircraft, but also to allow Turkey to return to the production and procurement program for fifth-generation F-35 fighters. An agreement on the decommissioning of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems acquired by Ankara in 2019, which caused the breakdown in military-technical cooperation between the countries, could be a condition for this. Sources specify that this refers to the possible partial disassembly of the S-400 or their transfer to a US-controlled base in Turkey, which would make the system unusable.

The talks between the leaders of the two countries, which took place on March 16, were the first major step in an attempt to reset relations between Washington and Ankara, which have been complicated in recent years by a number of political and military differences. Trump, according to Fox News, sees this as a chance to return Turkey to NATO’s orbit and strengthen the alliance, preventing it from deepening ties with Russia and China. Erdogan, in turn, insists on lifting the sanctions imposed under the CAATSA law in 2020 and completing the F-16 procurement process, as well as restoring Turkey’s participation in the F-35 program, from which it was excluded after purchasing the S-400. The Turkish side emphasizes that it is ready for compromises if they take into account its national interests.

The U.S. shift came as a surprise to many observers, given the tough stance Congress has taken on Turkey in recent years. The sale of F-16s, approved by lawmakers in 2024 after Ankara ratified Sweden’s NATO accession, is still being negotiated between the Turkish Defense Ministry and Lockheed Martin. But a return to the F-35 would require more complex decisions, as U.S. officials have previously said the S-400’s presence threatens the fighter’s technology secrecy. Trump, known for his pragmatic approach, appears willing to seek a “middle way” to keep Turkey a strategic ally with an army of nearly a million troops, the second-largest in NATO after the U.S.