President signals intent to lift Turkey sanctions, faces congressional pushback

President Trump said Tuesday he will remove sanctions on Turkey. The announcement came during a meeting with Turkish officials in Ankara. Several GOP lawmakers have come out against lifting the sanctions without guarantees that Turkey will dispose of its Russian S-400 air defense system. Israel and European governments have echoed those concerns.

Sanctions and fighter jet program The sanctions are codified in two laws, the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and a provision in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. That provision requires the president to certify the Russian air defense systems are neutralized before Turkey can access F-35 stealth fighter technology.

“I can tell you we’re going to be taking the sanctions off. OK? I don’t want him to waste his time answering that question,” the president said Tuesday. On Wednesday the president said he has not made a final decision on allowing Turkey to rejoin the F-35 program.

“I haven’t totally made up my mind, but my inclination is to say, look, he’s done everything,” he said.

Congressional and allied response Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned against giving Turkey access to the F-35 program. “If you give this kind of radical regime, that admittedly smiles to the president of the United States when it’s necessary, when you give it that power, you’re going to see aggression in its wake,” Netanyahu said in an interview with CNN.

Republicans and Democrats have expressed concern over Turkey’s alignment with Iran and Russia, its refusal to sanction Russia, and its military actions in Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean. Six GOP House members signed a letter to the president on July 2 opposing Turkey’s return to the F-35 program without addressing those issues.