President Donald Trump has dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to a potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, saying U.S. arms sales are decided by Washington alone. He also praised Türkiye as "a tremendous ally" and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as "a friend".
"Nobody tells me what we should be selling," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump also described Türkiye as "a tremendous ally" and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as "a friend" who, he said, had done a "very good job" dealing with thorny regional issues.
While acknowledging that Ankara is "not a big fan" of Israel and Netanyahu, Trump said relations between Washington and Ankara remain strong.
He also called Türkiye "a very powerful country" and described its armed forces as "tremendous".
The comments follow recent signals from Trump that he hopes to improve defence ties with Türkiye after years of strained relations over Ankara's purchase of the Russian-made S-400 air defence system.
At the recent NATO summit in The Hague, Trump said he would "certainly consider" selling F-35s to Türkiye, adding that the country had been "much more loyal than other countries."
In 2019, Türkiye was removed from the U.S.-led F-35 programme after buying the Russian S-400 system.
The United States also imposed sanctions on Türkiye's defence industry under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
Trump's latest remarks came days after Mehmet Demiroğlu, chief executive of Turkish Aerospace Industries, said Washington had approved the sale of U.S.-built F110 engines for Türkiye's KAAN advanced fighter jet programme.
Although U.S. officials have yet to confirm the reported approval, Congress recently greenlit the proposed sale of the engines, along with related equipment, during the statutory review period.
In a related development on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Tom Barrack, Washington's ambassador to Türkiye and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, in Ankara.
Turkish diplomatic sources provided few details of the meeting.
However, in a subsequent social media post, Barrack said the talks had focused on "the strength of the U.S.-Türkiye partnership and our shared interests in advancing regional stability, security, and prosperity."
Washington, he added, "values Türkiye's partnership as we continue working together on the challenges and opportunities ahead."
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