The US ambassador to Türkiye said he expects Donald Trump and Tayyip Erdogan to resolve long-standing defence-related sanctions on Turkey by year-end, according to an interview with Anadolu Agency, EDnews report, citing Reuters.
Thomas Barrack, the envoy, said the two presidents could give directions to settle the issue of sanctions, which the US imposed in 2020 over Türkiye's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems.
"In my view, President Trump and President Erdogan will tell Secretary (Marco) Rubio and Foreign Minister (Hakan) Fidan to fix this, find a way, and a resolution is possible by year-end," he was quoted as saying on Sunday.
The CAATSA sanctions, referring to the 'Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act', also removed NATO member Türkiye from the F-35 programme, where it was both a buyer and manufacturer of the fighter jets.
"We all believe there's a tremendous opportunity here, as we have two leaders who trust each other," said Barrack, who is also special envoy to neighbouring Syria.
