Erdoğan and Trump Discuss F-35 Jets and Gaza Peace in Ankara Summit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he was confident NATO would reach a positive decision on Turkey's bid to acquire F-35 fighter jets, and that Ankara was working with Washington to establish peace in the region through dialogue and coordination, according to remarks reported by Anadolu Agency following talks with US President Donald Trump. Erdoğan framed the discussions around Gaza and regional stability alongside Turkey's defence procurement and its standing within the alliance.

Turkey's pursuit of the F-35 has been blocked since 2019, when Washington removed Ankara from the Lockheed Martin-led programme after Turkey purchased the Russian-made S-400 air defence system. The United States argued the S-400 posed a risk to the stealth fighter's technology and to NATO systems, and imposed sanctions on Turkey's defence procurement agency under the CAATSA law. Turkey had been both a buyer and a manufacturing partner in the F-35 supply chain, and had already made payments toward the aircraft it never received. Erdoğan's government has repeatedly pressed successive US administrations to readmit Turkey to the programme or resolve the dispute, while also advancing a separate request to buy F-16 jets and modernisation kits.

The reported talks placed Gaza at the centre of the Turkey-US agenda. Turkey has been an outspoken critic of Israel's war on Gaza and has aligned closely with Qatar, which alongside Egypt and the United States has mediated ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations. Doha and Ankara maintain a strategic partnership spanning defence, investment and a shared position of full support for the Palestinian cause, and both have pushed for a durable end to the fighting and expanded humanitarian access. Any easing of the F-35 impasse and a coordinated push on Gaza would carry weight across the Gulf, where Turkey's role as a NATO member and regional power intersects with Qatari diplomacy.