US President Donald Trump says he may lift sanctions against Turkey’s defence industry.
“Could be very soon. If we have a good meeting, almost immediately,” Trump told reporters ahead of his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House.
In 2020, US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on the Turkish defence industry over a multi-billion dollar contract to buy Russia’s S-400 anti-missile system. They targeted the Turkish Defence Industries Directorate (SSB) and banned any US export licences to the organisation. Turkey has also been excluded from the US-led F-35 fighter jet programme.
Turkey signed an agreement with Russia to purchase the S-400 in 2017, indicating that the Russian system was needed for security reasons.