The American sanctions against the Turkiye’s defense sector concerning its purchase of a Russian air defense system should be completed at the end of the year, Ankara’s American envoy said on Sunday.
Speak to the State press agency AnadoluTom Barrack said US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan would ask their best diplomats to “understand the way and put it an end and that Congress would support a smart solution”.
The two parties committed to drawing a line under the dispute, which dragged the problem for five years, the problem could be solved within six months, said Barrack.
“My conviction is that by the end of the year, we have the opportunity to have a solution, my conviction is that they will solve the problem,” he said.
Washington imposed sanctions in Ankara in 2020 regarding its purchase of an anti-missile defense system on the Russian air surface of the S-400 under a law of 2017 known as Caatsa, which aims to limit the military influence of Russia.
He also expelled Turkiye from his F-35 program, with Washington stating that the presence of the S-400 would allow the Russians to collect information on the capabilities of the stealth jet-a decision that embittered the links between the NATO allies.
“All these things that have been discussed for five years, F-35, F-16, S400, sanctions, prices … enough. We have to put this aside, and the congress is ready to watch a new one,” said Barrack.
In March, Erdogan spoke to Trump about the need to finalize an agreement to allow Turkiye to buy F-16 fighter planes and be read on the development program for F-35 war planes.
And last month, he said he saw an end for sanctions, saying that Turkiye had seen them relaxed under Trump.
Erdogan met Trump on Tuesday on the sidelines of a NATO summit in The Hague on Trump and called for increased cooperation from the defense industry with Washington, which he said could considerably stimulate trade between them.
“Advancing cooperation in the defense industry would facilitate the objective of a commercial volume of $ 100 billion,” he said.
Turkiye, who wants to modernize his air army, also sought to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhons built by a consortium of four countries in Germany, Great Britain, Spain and Italy.
