Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for Turkey's return to the U.S.-led F-35 fighter jet program, saying such a move would help strengthen Turkey-U.S. relations and improve NATO security, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported, as quoted by BTA.
In written responses to questions from “Bloomberg“, referring to his September 2025 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, Erdogan described the decision to exclude Turkey from the F-35 program over its purchase of military equipment from Russia nearly a decade ago as “unfair” and added that he had personally told Trump.
Turkish President pointed out that Trump's return to power has created an opportunity for relations between Ankara and Washington to move to a "more reasonable and constructive path."
On the F-35 issue, Erdogan stressed that "receiving the F-35 aircraft, for which Turkey has already paid, and returning it to the program are important and necessary" for better relations with the United States and for NATO defense.
Regarding the possible purchase of F-16 Block 70 aircraft from the United States, Erdogan stressed that Ankara expects the conditions to be in line with the spirit of the NATO alliance, citing the purchase of Eurofighter fighter jets from Turkey as an example.
Regarding the US case against the state-owned Turkish bank "Halkbank" (Türkiye Halk Bankasi AS), Erdogan stressed that Turkey considers the accusations to be wrong and has been talks so that an “unfair punishment” is not imposed on the bank. “Our hope is to achieve a fair result that is fully in line with the law”, he added.
Regarding bilateral energy ties, the Turkish leader noted that liquefied natural gas supplies, especially from the US, have increased significantly, stressing that this now occupies an “important place” in Turkey's supply chain.
Erdogan indicated that Turkey's position is very clear. “We act according to our national interests and our energy security”, he added.
“As a country that relies on imports for a large part of its hydrocarbon needs, we must maintain a careful and balanced approach in all issues that may affect our energy security”, he said.