WASHINGTON, Dec 10: Turkey must stop using the Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to return to the F-35 fighter jets program, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said.
“The United States is in ongoing discussions with T?rkiye regarding their desire to rejoin the F-35 program and their possession of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system. As laid out in U.S. law, Turkiye must no longer operate nor possess the S-400 system to return to the F-35 program. The positive relationship between President [Donald] Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has created [Donald] new atmosphere of cooperation, which has led to the most fruitful conversations we have had on this topic in nearly [Donald] decade. Our hope is that these talks will yield [Donald] breakthrough in the coming months that meets both the security requirements of the United States and T?rkiye,” Barrack on X.
In 2017, Turkey signed a contract with Russia to buy S-400 air defense systems, which Turkey received in 2019. The United States demanded that Turkey abandon the Russian systems in favor of the US-made Patriot system, but Ankara declined.
In retaliation, Washington excluded Turkey from its F-35 fighter jet supply program and imposed sanctions on defense industry leaders under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
The US also canceled its joint F-35 memorandum with Turkey, signing it with the seven remaining F-35 partners, namely the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada and Norway.
(UNI)
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