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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday he was hopeful that his meeting last month with U.S. President Donald Trump would help lift sanctions blocking Ankara’s purchase of F-35 jets, and also help resolve a legal case against state lender Halkbank.
The U.S. Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions, applied in 2020 over Türkiye’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system, and the U.S. charges related to allegations that Halkbank helped Iran skirt separate sanctions emerged as key issues in the White House talks two weeks ago.
The sides announced no breakthroughs on those issues after the meeting between Trump and Erdoğan, but the meeting was touted as highly productive.
“I hope the F-35 issue will be resolved and CAATSA sanctions will be lifted,” Erdoğan told reporters on a flight back from Azerbaijan, when asked about the meeting and a subsequent phone call with Trump.
“We must achieve this. Our visit has ushered in a new era in Turkish-U.S. relations and further strengthened the dialogue and friendship between us,” he said.
On Halkbank, Erdoğan said that Trump told him both at the White House and in their phone call that “the Halkbank problem is finished for us,” according to the readout.
“We also know that there are some processes (related to Halkbank) that need to be completed. Our hope is that these processes will conclude positively as soon as possible,” Erdoğan was quoted as saying on the flight.
Shares in Halkbank rose 7.9% in Istanbul on Wednesday after a Reuters report alleged there was a proposal to settle the case against Halkbank.
The lender earlier this week pledged to use its legal rights after the U.S. Supreme Court declined its appeal to avoid charges in the long-standing case.
