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.
On Türkiye’s purchase of the Russian S-400 systems in 2019, Gumrukcu said Türkiye faced an urgent air defence requirement after failing to secure alternative systems from its allies.
Gumrukcu said Ankara turned to Russia to fill an "immediate gap" in its urgent need for air defences, calling it "a one-off procurement."
“We were compelled to buy this S-400 as an immediate gap filler. But even right after that, we have told our allies that this is a one-off procurement,” he said.
Asked about opposition from several US Congress members, including some of Greek heritage, he responded: “Not only the Greek-origin members of the Congress, but also there have been some statements coming from Greece on that issue as well, and I believe this is an unnecessary sort of politics.”
“When Greece is buying its own defence equipment from other countries, including the United States and European allies, we have never commented on that because we are in the same alliance, and we would only be happy if our allies become stronger in their own defence,” he added.
