U.S. President Donald Trump is offering Turkey eased sanctions, dropped legal proceedings, and a military sales package worth more than $700 million ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7–8.
This comes at the same time as Turkey’s interior minister pledged to “liberate” Jerusalem and ”return” the city to Turkish rule.
The military package includes advanced jet engines, enabling Turkey to develop its own fleet of next-generation fighter aircraft.
Trump lavished praise on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when asked about the arms deal in late June. He commended the Turkish leader for refraining from supporting Iran when the United States and Israel launched their war against the country in late February.
Trump’s remarks coincided with a recent escalation in rhetoric by Erdoğan and other senior Turkish officials against the Jewish state. Earlier this month, Turkey’s interior minister called on the country to “liberate” Jerusalem and restore the city to Turkish rule.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry reminded Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi that the Ottoman Empire no longer exists. Responding in Turkish, Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated that Jerusalem “will remain Israel’s capital forever,” according to The Times of Israel.
Jerusalem was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for several centuries, one of a succession of occupying powers following the destruction of the city by the Roman Empire nearly 2,000 years ago. Under Ottoman rule, Jerusalem was an insignificant and sparsely populated city and, since its destruction, had never served as the capital of any country other than Israel.
”Just as we witnessed the liberation of Damascus, Aleppo, and Karabakh, God willing, we too will one day witness the liberation of Jerusalem,” Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said during a speech at the ruling AK Party’s conference in the city of Çorum.
Çiftçi was referring to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in December 2024, when Turkish-backed rebel forces seized power, as well as Azerbaijan’s recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023 and the displacement of the ethnic Armenian breakaway republic that had controlled large parts of western Azerbaijan for decades.
In his speech, Çiftçi also revealed that he had previously prayed to God that he might become ”governor of Jerusalem, if only for a single day.”
Erdoğan has been condemned by Europe and democracy organizations for his authoritarian rule, threats against allies, and close ties with adversaries of the West. He has consolidated power around himself and cracked down on the opposition by imprisoning political opponents, journalists, academics, artists, and other critics. He has threatened NATO members Greece and Cyprus while deepening relations with Russia, China, Iran, and the terrorist group Hamas.
“As long as Turkey is led by Erdoğan—who aligns himself with Iran and Russia, shelters Hamas, and is the only NATO member that has not imposed sanctions on Russia—Turkey should NOT receive our best fighter aircraft or our most advanced military equipment,” wrote Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (Republican, New York) on X.
According to The Hill, Erdoğan’s close relationship with Trump has provided him with international legitimacy and political room to maneuver, shielding him from isolation within NATO and Europe.
Trump also wants to bring Turkey back into the F-35 program, despite the country remaining under U.S. sanctions over its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system.
“Turkey—the country that funds Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, hates Israel, and loves Russia and Iran… good luck getting F-35s, F-16s, or any other American defense platform,” Senator Rick Scott (Republican, Florida), a close Trump ally, wrote on X in April.
