US ready to greenlight Turkey’s F-35 fighter jet program if Ankara gives up Russian S-300s and S-400s
Washington is ready to resume Turkey’s F-35 fighter jet program only if Ankara agrees to stop using Russian S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said during the White House press briefing on Jan. 31.
Read also: Ankara rejected US proposal to transfer Russian S-400 air defense system from Turkey to Ukraine
“There’s no change to our view that the F-35 program for Turkey is incompatible with their use of the S-300 and S-400 missiles. So, we’re still having those discussions. And should Turkey be able to resolve our concerns about that, then there could be a restoration of — of moving into the F-35 program.”
Earlier, the Biden administration has announced its approved a $23 billion deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey, after Ankara ratified Sweden’s NATO membership, according to the State Department.
The State Department will notify Congress of the agreement, as well as of a separate $8.6bn sale of 40 F-35s to Greece. Turkey will get 40 new F-16s and upgrades to 79 of the jets in its existing fleet.
The State Department notified Congress of its approval of the sale of $23 billion worth of aircraft to Turkey, as well as the sale of $8.6 billion worth of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Greece. Ankara has been promised 40 new F-16s and equipment to modernize 79 existing aircraft.
In 2017, when Turkey signed a contract with Russia to purchase the air defense system, U.S. officials opposed its deployment, arguing that the S-400 would be incompatible with NATO systems. Ankara rejected these concerns, stating that “the S-400 will not be integrated into NATO systems and do not pose a threat to the Alliance or its armaments.”
Read also: Orban invites Swedish PM to discuss Stockholm's NATO accession
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