Barrack says Erdogan and Trump ready to instruct diplomats to end five-year sanctions standoff

The long-standing arms dispute between the United States and Turkiye may finally be resolved by the end of this year, according to the US envoy to Ankara, Tom Barrack.

In an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency on Sunday, Barrack said both US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were prepared to direct their top diplomats to find a solution.
“They will figure out the way to end it, and Congress will support an intelligent outcome,” Barrack stated.

The five-year row began in 2020 when Washington imposed sanctions on Turkiye’s defense industry over its purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile system under the CAATSA law, which targets Russian military influence.

As a result, Turkiye was also removed from the US-led F-35 fighter jet program, a move that significantly strained relations between the two NATO allies. The US argued that the S-400 system could expose sensitive F-35 technology to Russian intelligence.

“F-35s, F-16s, S-400s, sanctions, tariffs — we’ve been going over the same issues for five years. Enough,” Barrack said. “It’s time to move forward, and Congress is open to a fresh perspective.”

President Erdogan has repeatedly called for renewed defense cooperation with the US. In March, he discussed with Trump a deal to allow Turkiye to purchase F-16 fighter jets and potentially rejoin the F-35 program.

During a recent meeting at a NATO summit in The Hague, Erdogan emphasized the need to expand defense ties, which he said could help boost US-Turkiye trade to $100 billion.

Meanwhile, Turkiye is also exploring the purchase of 40 Eurofighter Typhoons from a consortium involving Germany, the UK, Spain, and Italy, as part of efforts to modernize its air force.

Barrack expressed optimism, saying:
“My belief is that by the year’s end, this problem will be solved.”