‘Not Easy to Remove Turkey From F-35 Program’

Date: 11 September 2019 - 20:41

News ID: ۷۰۳۲۶

ANKARA (Dispatches) – Turkey has not given up on buying F-35 fighter jets from the United States despite being suspended from the program, Turkish Presidency spokesman ?brahim Kal?n says.
The United States suspended Turkey from the production program of the new-generation fighter jets in July, after Ankara ignored warnings from U.S. officials and took delivery of Russian-built S-400 missile defense systems.
Washington also halted the delivery of 100 F-35 jets that had Ankara ordered over concerns that the S-400 defense systems could allow possible Russian subterfuge on F-35s.
"We have not given up on the F-35s, it is not easy to remove Turkey from that program either. We believe that the crisis will be resolved sooner or later,” Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency quoted Kal?n as saying at a press conference in Ankara.
Meanwhile, there is bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress for further measures to be imposed on Turkey under a sanctions bill introduced in 2017 to discourage countries from dealing with Russia’s defense industry.
However, U.S. President Donald Trump has asked for flexibility when dealing with Turkey, and is believed to oppose the sanctions.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an examined Russian Su-57 jets during a visit to Moscow in late August, triggering reports that Turkey could buy the Russian built jets to replace its aging fleet of F-16s.
However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu said last month that Turkey’s first priority was to purchase F-35s, which Turkey has spent some $1.4 billion on already.