President Donald Trump met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on July 7, 2026 [1], to discuss military and trade issues.
The meeting occurs as the U.S. seeks to recalibrate its relationship with Turkey, a key NATO ally, while managing longstanding disputes over military hardware and regional security.
The leaders arrived in Ankara for a two-day NATO summit [2]. During their discussions, the two presidents addressed bilateral trade, and military cooperation. A central point of the conversation was the status of the F-35 fighter jet program, which saw sales to Turkey halted during Trump's first term.
"We will look at the possibility of resuming F-35 sales to Turkey," Trump said [3].
While the U.S. president signaled an openness to resuming these sales, no confirmed agreement was finalized during the initial meeting. This potential shift in policy comes as NATO unveils arms deals worth billions of dollars [4] to demonstrate the alliance's collective firepower.
Trump also commented on his personal relationship with the Turkish leader. "We have great chemistry," Trump said [5].
Other discussions during the summit involved the broader state of the alliance. Trump mentioned a separate interaction regarding other allies, stating, "Italy turned us down" [6].
The meeting serves as a precursor to the broader summit agenda, focusing on how the U.S. and Turkey can coordinate their strategic interests within the NATO framework.
“"We will look at the possibility of resuming F-35 sales to Turkey."”
The willingness to revisit F-35 sales suggests a transactional approach to diplomacy, using high-value military assets as leverage to improve bilateral relations with Turkey. If resumed, these sales would signal a significant pivot in U.S. security policy and a potential reconciliation with Ankara, though the lack of a formal agreement indicates that conditions for such a deal remain unresolved.
