Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan answered questions from Hande Fırat on CNN Türk live broadcast, offering assessments on a wide range of topics from US relations and Israel policy to the NATO summit and the Iran agreement.
Fidan stated that the Donald Trump administration is showing a strong will to lift CAATSA sanctions, saying, "Both leaders and both countries want this lifted." He noted that lifting the F-35 sales ban is an easier issue than joining the program as a producer, and emphasized that the Trump administration can find no explanation for selling arms on commercial grounds to many non-NATO countries while refusing to sell to Turkey.
Fidan said that regional stability is positively affected when Turkey-US relations are good, and he sharply criticized Israel. Describing Israel as "by the unanimous definition of the international community, a disruptor," Fidan said, "I do not believe this political stance will change as long as Netanyahu and his gang are there."
The Foreign Minister suggested Israel is searching for a new enemy to change its negative international image, saying, "Israel is not just Turkey's problem, it's the world's problem," adding that Turkey will not remain hesitant toward any actor that conflicts with national interests.
Regarding the US-Iran agreement, Fidan said that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's years-long profile as a "reliable, honest partner" was decisive in Trump thanking him.
Announcing that the NATO summit to be held in Ankara will be the largest in alliance history, Fidan said, "It will be the place where NATO 3.0 is defined and adopted." The Minister noted that for the first time, a Defense Industry Forum will become part of the official program, and he stressed that both major cooperation and major competition will emerge in the defense industry, and these two elements must be managed together.
