Türkiye and the United States are “closer” than they have been to resolving the CAATSA sanctions and F-35 dispute, Türkiye’s Deputy Foreign Minister and Ambassador Levent Gumrukcu has said.
Speaking on Friday at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council Türkiye Program in Washington, Gumrukcu said resolving the dispute was a top priority when President Donald Trump took office, prompting the establishment of a joint political and military working group.
“They have looked at many different options to satisfy the legal obligations on the US side and the political and economic considerations on the Turkish side,” he said, referring to the working group.
“This time we really feel closer. We feel that we might be able to resolve this issue and leave that problem behind us,” he said, adding he could not yet detail what a deal might look like or when it could come.
“For the first time ever, really for the last 10 to 15 years, we have full confidence in the United States administration that when we reach a deal, they are going to deliver their part of the deal as well,” he said.
He said the effort goes beyond Türkiye’s return to the F-35 programme, describing it as part of a broader push to forge “much deeper defence industry cooperation” between the two countries.
