(Amends language in headline)
ANKARA, Turkey, July 7 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said he would lift sanctions off Turkey and make a decision on a potential sale of F-35s to Ankara as he began a meeting on Tuesday with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at a NATO summit.
“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” Trump told reporters when asked about the measures imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
In 2020, Washington imposed CAATSA sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition of Russian S-400 air defense systems. It also removed Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program, a move Turkey called unjust and illegal.
Trump was expected to throw his support behind the potential sale of F-35s during the visit to Ankara, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, even as legal and congressional hurdles have yet to be fully resolved.
“It’s a decision we’re going to make,” Trump said. He said he and Erdogan would also discuss trade.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Katharine Jackson; Editing by Doina Chiacu and David Ljunggren)
