Turkey's Erdogan calls for US to lift sanctions hindering defence purchases

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called for U.S. sanctions blocking some defence purchases by his country and for other "unilateral" measures that hinder the NATO allies' ability to hit long-term bilateral trade targets to be lifted.

Ties between the allies have been strained over a host of issues in recent years, ranging from policy differences in the eastern Mediterranean, Syria and Gaza to Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 air defence systems, which prompted the U.S. sanctions and Turkey's removal from the F-35 fighter jet programme in 2019.

After that, Ankara worked to procure 40 Block-70 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernisation kits from Washington. The deal was approved after Turkey's blessing of Sweden's NATO bid, which also led to a thaw in relations.

Ankara and Washington have a long-term goal of $100 billion in bilateral trade, up from about $30 billion in 2023.

During a visit to New York for the U.N. General Assembly, Erdogan told Turkish and American businesspeople that though he believed the goal would be possible to meet, cooperation in defence industry had "fallen very short" of its potential due to the remaining restrictions.

"For this, unilateral applications like additional tariffs in the iron, steel, and aluminum sectors, probes and the CAATSA sanctions need to be abandoned," he said on Monday, referring to the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

"I hope we have turned a new page with the F-16 modernisation project, and we expect export restrictions in this field to be permanently lifted," Erdogan added.

He also said Turkey was advantageous for supply chains, citing cooperation on the production and procurement of 155mm ammunition - an important shell in the Ukraine-Russia war - as an example.

Washington has also sanctioned several Turkish individuals and companies for contravening sanctions against Russia. Turkey supports Ukraine, but opposes the sanctions and says they will not be circumvented in Turkish soil.

Apart from the F-16s, Turkey has also been interested in the Eurofighter Typhoon jets from Germany, Britain and Spain, but it has complained of a lack of progress over Berlin's reluctance.

On Monday, Erdogan met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in New York, his office said, adding he had conveyed Ankara's readiness to improve cooperation in every area and take advantage of joint opportunities that would benefit both sides.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Jamie Freed)