During the NATO summit, U.S. President Donald Trump stated during his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that the United States would lift sanctions against Turkey and make a final decision on the potential plan to resume the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey. This announcement indicates that there may be a significant turning point in the U.S.-Turkey defense relationship, which has been at a standstill due to Turkey's procurement of Russian-made weapons.
Several hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly warned of the dangers of the US's actions in an interview with CNN. He said that selling the United States' most advanced fighter jets to Turkey does not mean that Turkey has become a friendly country to the US. Netanyahu revealed that he had repeatedly directly urged Trump not to do this, stating that the deployment of F-35 jets to Turkey would “undermine the balance of power in the Middle East.”
In recent years, relations between the two sides have continued to deteriorate. The Erdogan government is one of the most critical governments in the Middle East when it comes to criticizing Israel, especially regarding the Israeli actions in Gaza. Erdogan himself has described Israel as a threat to Turkey and has labeled Zionism as an ideology that practices genocide, occupation, and expansion.
The deterioration of relations between the two countries has made Netanyahu particularly wary of the closer ties between the United States and Turkey. In an interview, Netanyahu said, "Turkey is not a force for peace and stability. When you grant them such capabilities (F-35 fighter jets), you will see the resulting aggression."
According to the Israel Times, Netanyahu also described the Ankara regime as 'a regime eroded by the Muslim Brotherhood, which hates the United States'.
I think everyone understands that, despite the close personal relationship between President Trump and Erdogan, this does not mean Turkey is a friendly country to the United States, " he said, “he (Erdogan) is not an ideal ally for the US, threatening to destroy my country, the only Jewish nation."
Netanyahu also downplayed his differences with Trump. He said that although there were “occasional disagreements,” they “agree on major issues.”
He is the president of the United States. Everything he does is for the benefit of the United States. I am the Prime Minister of Israel, and everything I do is for the benefit of Israel, and most of the time, our focus is on a unified approach. He explained.
In 2017, Turkey reached an agreement with Russia to purchase Russian-made S-400 air defense missile systems. The United States demanded that Turkey abandon Russian-made air defense systems in favor of American-made “Patriot” systems. When this request was rejected, the United States expelled Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program and imposed sanctions on Turkish defense officials. Relations between the two countries subsequently cooled down. Turkey has always argued that this decision was “unfair and illegal,” and has repeatedly sought to rejoin the program.
It is worth mentioning that Trump himself was only reluctantly supportive of this ban, attributing the situation to the Obama administration. He also expressed empathy for Erdogan, saying that it was because the U.S. government at the time refused to sell Turkey the ‘Patriot’ missile system that Turkey ended up leaning towards Russia. Turkey was ‘forced into such a difficult situation.’
Although Trump himself has shown strong support, according to two informed sources, the resumption of military sales still faces dual obstacles at the legal and congressional levels, and these obstacles have not been completely removed.
