ISTANBUL: The close relationship between US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has brought the countries closer to resolving issues that led to Turkiye being kicked off the F-35 fighter jet program, the United States ambassador to Ankara said Wednesday.
“The positive relationship between President Trump and President Erdogan has created a new atmosphere of cooperation, which has led to the most fruitful conversations we have had on this topic in nearly a decade,” Ambassador Tom Barrack wrote in a social media post.
During Trump’s first term, the US removed NATO ally Turkiye from the next-generation fighter program after Turkiye purchased an air defense system from Russia. US officials worried that Turkiye’s use of Russia’s S-400 missile system could be used to gather data on the capabilities of the F-35 and that the information could end up in Russian hands.
Ankara has long sought to be readmitted to the project, which was developed by the US and other NATO members. Erdogan has said Turkiye invested $1.4 billion before it was suspended from the program in 2019. The US also imposed sanctions on Turkiye under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act the following year.
Barrack, who is also Trump’s special envoy for Syria, said there were “ongoing discussions with Türkiye regarding their desire to rejoin the F-35 program and their possession of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system.”
Using the Turkish government’s preferred spelling for Turkiye, he said the “positive relationship” between Trump and Erdogan had “created a new atmosphere of cooperation, which has led to the most fruitful conversations we have had on this topic in nearly a decade.
“Our hope is that these talks will yield a breakthrough in the coming months that meets both the security requirements of the United States and Türkiye.”
While it has been excluded from receiving F-35s, Turkiye has been looking elsewhere to bolster its air force, including Eurofighter Typhoons and US-made F-16s. It is developing its own fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet, which is expected to enter service in 2028.
In a meeting with Erdogan at the White House in September, Trump signaled that the US might soon lift the ban on sales of F-35s to Ankara. The two leaders forged what Trump has described as a “very good relationship” during his first White House term.
The Obama and Biden administrations kept Erdogan, who has ruled Turkiye for 22 years, at arm’s length. US officials cited concerns about Turkiye’s human rights record and the country’s ties with Russia. Tensions between Turkiye and Israel, another important American ally, have made relations difficult with Turkiye at times.
Trump sees Erdogan as an intermediary in his efforts to find ends to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. US and European leaders have followed Erdogan in embracing Syria’s new interim government.
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US ambassador to Ankara says Trump is moving closer to resolving Turkiye’s F-35 ban
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US ambassador to Ankara says Trump is moving closer to resolving Turkiye’s F-35 ban
- In a meeting with Erdogan at the White House in September, Trump signaled that the US might soon lift the ban on sales of F-35s to Ankara
Brazil moves closer to curbing Indigenous land claims in constitution
BRASILIA: Brazilian lawmakers moved closer Tuesday toward changing the constitution to limit Indigenous peoples’ rights over their ancestral lands, despite expert claims that they are a key bulwark against global warming.
Land rights for native peoples have been a point of contention in Brazil for years due to the country’s powerful agricultural sector and its allies in the predominantly conservative parliament.
The country has already curbed land claims through the so-called “time frame” rule that means Indigenous peoples can only have protected reserves on lands they physically occupied when the constitution was enacted in 1988.
Proponents say the measure will resolve uncertainty about land demarcation, while opponents say it will open native peoples’ lands to economic exploitation.
The Senate advanced Tuesday a proposed amendment, by 52 votes to 15, that would enshrine the time frame rule in the constitution itself.
The text now moves to the Chamber of Deputies for approval.
The vote came ahead of the start of a Supreme Court case centered on the application of the time frame rule in demarcating Indigenous lands.
The court declared the rule unconstitutional in 2023, in a victory for Indigenous movements.
But Congress passed it into law anyway, despite that decision and the vetoes of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Brazil is home to 1.7 million Indigenous people, out of a total population of over 200 million.
Indigenous communities argue that many of Brazil’s native inhabitants were expelled from ancestral homelands throughout the country’s history, particularly during its military dictatorship of 1964 to 1985.
Since returning to power in 2023, Lula has approved 16 Indigenous territories, granting native peoples the right to occupy and exclusively use their natural resources.
Experts say that such territories work as a shield against climate-related threats like deforestation and fires.
Land rights for native peoples have been a point of contention in Brazil for years due to the country’s powerful agricultural sector and its allies in the predominantly conservative parliament.
The country has already curbed land claims through the so-called “time frame” rule that means Indigenous peoples can only have protected reserves on lands they physically occupied when the constitution was enacted in 1988.
Proponents say the measure will resolve uncertainty about land demarcation, while opponents say it will open native peoples’ lands to economic exploitation.
The Senate advanced Tuesday a proposed amendment, by 52 votes to 15, that would enshrine the time frame rule in the constitution itself.
The text now moves to the Chamber of Deputies for approval.
The vote came ahead of the start of a Supreme Court case centered on the application of the time frame rule in demarcating Indigenous lands.
The court declared the rule unconstitutional in 2023, in a victory for Indigenous movements.
But Congress passed it into law anyway, despite that decision and the vetoes of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Brazil is home to 1.7 million Indigenous people, out of a total population of over 200 million.
Indigenous communities argue that many of Brazil’s native inhabitants were expelled from ancestral homelands throughout the country’s history, particularly during its military dictatorship of 1964 to 1985.
Since returning to power in 2023, Lula has approved 16 Indigenous territories, granting native peoples the right to occupy and exclusively use their natural resources.
Experts say that such territories work as a shield against climate-related threats like deforestation and fires.
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