U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would "probably do something" that would make Türkiye happy, signaling a potential shift on Ankara's requests for F-35 fighter jets and jet engines needed for its indigenous Kaan fighter aircraft program, ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara.
Speaking to reporters as he met NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House, Trump pointed to Türkiye's NATO membership when asked whether he was going to Türkiye "with a big gift bag."
"Look, he's a member of NATO. Some people don't consider himself (a NATO member), but he really is. He's a strong member of NATO," Trump said.
"Yeah, I'm going to probably do something that's going to make him very happy," he added.
Türkiye is getting ready to host NATO leaders at a summit in the capital Ankara on July 7-8.
Rutte, for his part, said Türkiye has a "huge" defense industrial base.
Trump replied: "People don't know how big Türkiye is in terms of the military. It's very strong. They have a lot of our equipment, a very strong military, because of him."
Trump added that he likely would not have attended the summit had it not been hosted in Türkiye by President Erdoğan.
"I'm going out of respect to President Erdogan," Trump said.
The engines, produced by General Electric, will power Türkiye's first indigenous combat jet KAAN, a major project launched in 2016 as part of NATO member Ankara's efforts to be more self-sufficient in its defense.
President Erdoğan had previously called Türkiye's removal from the F-35 fighter jet program "unjust," stressing that its reentry is key to NATO security. Ankara was excluded from the U.S.-led multinational program in 2019 over its purchase of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. Ever since, it has repeatedly called the move unfair and voiced hope that the sides could overcome the issue during U.S. President Donald Trump's second term.
Despite boasting NATO's second-largest army, Türkiye often faced arms embargoes in the past. That pushed it to significantly boost domestic capabilities and curb foreign dependence over the last two decades.
Today, it produces a wide range of vehicles and arms types domestically, including its own drones, missiles and naval vessels. It's also developing its own fifth-generation fighter jet.
Named Kaan, the stealth fighter is sought to replace the Air Force Command's aging F-16 fleet, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s.
