Announcements made by US President Donald Trump in Ankara on Tuesday regarding the possibility of Turkey’s return to the F-35 program are the product of lengthy, slow-moving processes that have been underway since the first weeks of his return to the White House. Arriving at the NATO summit, Trump said on Tuesday he would lift sanctions on Turkey and make a decision on a potential sale of F-35s to Ankara.

While in a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Erdogan, President Trump announced the U.S. will lift Turkey sanctions and that he is considering selling them F-35s.

Trump signals restoring Turkey's F-35 jet access ahead of NATO summit, but Congress pushes back. What the defense deal means for geopolitical risk and