Trump says he is working to remove Turkey from US sanctions list
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Yasmine El-Sabawi
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Tue, 07/07/2026 - 17:52
The process remains unclear, but the US president is in Ankara for the Nato summit, where he reserved praise for his 'friend' Erdogan
US President Donald Trump speaks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential compound for the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, on 7 July 2026 (Emrah Gurel/Reuters)
Off
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is going to remove Turkey from a US blacklist that he himself imposed during his first term.
Sitting in Ankara next to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as part of the Nato summit, Trump announced: "We're going to be taking the sanctions off. Okay?"
"It's time to do that... We don't want to sanction friends. It's very simple," he told reporters assembled in the room for the bilateral meeting.
As the interpreter translated the remarks, the normally stoic Erdogan couldn't help but smile and give Trump a thumbs-up.
The sanctions in question stem from the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, otherwise known as Caatsa. Turkey found itself on the list among US adversaries North Korea and Iran when it agreed to buy the S-400 defence system from Russia.
It also got booted from the exclusive F-35 fighter jet programme, owing to US concerns that sensitive information could be exposed to Moscow.
Now the Turks may very well find their way back, after Trump said in Ankara that he is also considering restoring their access.
Tuesday's announcement is "music to Ankara’s ears", Alper Coskun, a former Turkish diplomat now with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Middle East Eye.
"This is important political signalling from the top, but not much different from what the administration has been saying for some time," he noted. "It does, however, suggest Trump intends to engage Congress to move forward."
Trump, Turkey and Nato: What's at stake at the Ankara summit?
»
In return, Turkey would have to begin shedding the S-400 system entirely, Coskun said.
Caatsa is a federal statute, so lawmakers would have to work through the process.
But what the Trump administration may begin doing is re-interpreting the sanctions application by arguing that the conditions that led to Turkey's blacklisting no longer exist, Coskun explained.
The president may be able to issue a waiver, but it's unclear if he wants to take that route rather than work with allies in a still-Republican-dominated Congress.
After the November midterm elections, the Democrats may take both chambers.
'Loyal' ally
While berating the leaders of almost all of western Europe, Trump has taken to praising what he described as the loyalty of the Turks compared to other Nato allies.
He has repeatedly berated the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, and Spain as being weak on defence and immigration, attacked Denmark for asserting its sovereignty over Greenland, and is currently in an open feud with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.
Since March, he has repeatedly expressed his disdain for these countries not joining his war on Iran.
"I was very disappointed with Nato, and frankly, if [the summit] weren't held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it's possible that I wouldn't have attended," Trump told reporters.
"I felt I had to attend because of the fact that, you know, I know he's gone all out...but we weren't treated well [by western Europe] because we did something in Iran. We don't need anybody's help. I didn't even want their help, but before I asked, they said they wouldn't be there."
The US president went on to describe Turkey as "loyal", contrasting it with other allies that he says are not.
"We have a better relationship with Turkey," he continued.
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