Trump says US to lift sanctions on Turkiye

Ankara, Jul 7 (AP) President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US will lift sanctions on Turkiye that were issued after Ankara purchased a Russian missile defence system that led to the country being kicked out of the F-35 fighter jet program. There are still a number of legal hurdles before Turkiye could be fully admitted back to the US program, but the removal of the sanctions - issued under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act - would help ease the process for Ankara to regain access to the F-35s, a top goal of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and one that Trump predicted will happen eventually. “We're going to be taking the sanctions off, OK?” Trump said in response to a question during a meeting with Erdogan at the presidential palace in Ankara. He said Cabinet officials were working on the matter. Earlier, he said that the possibility of selling the F-35s to Turkiye is “certainly something we will consider.” (AP) GSP