Turkey, US will find way of removing CAATSA sanctions 'very soon', Turkish FM says

By Samia Nakhoul

DOHA, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters on Saturday that he believed Turkey and the United States would find a way to remove U.S. CAATSA sanctions "very soon", and added the NATO allies had started working on the issue.

Washington removed Ankara from its advanced F-35 fighter jet programme and imposed the sanctions in 2020 over its acquisition of Russian S-400 air defence systems. Turkey has called the move unjust, and voiced hope that the sides could overcome the issue during President Donald Trump's second term.

In an interview on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Fidan also said that Washington's initial 28-point plan to end the war in Ukraine, which was criticised by Kyiv and European countries, was only a "starting point" and that it was now evolving into a new format.

He said he believed U.S. officials were "on the right path" in terms of their mediation techniques, and added he hoped the sides would not leave the negotiating table. Fidan also repeated Turkey's readiness to host fresh peace talks between the warring parties.

(Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Aidan Lewis)