The United States has named a condition for the sale of the latest F-35 fighters to Turkey
Kyiv • UNN
The United States is ready to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey as soon as it gets rid of the Russian S-400 air defense systems in its service.
The United States is ready to sign a deal with Turkey to sell F-35 fighter jets as soon as Ankara resolves the issue of russian S-400 air defense systems in its service. This was stated in an interview with CNN Turk by US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, UNN reports .
Details
She emphasized that it was precisely because of Turkey's purchase of russian S-400s that the United States imposed sanctions against the Turkish Defense Industry Authority.
Obviously, if we can resolve the S-400 issue, and we want to do that, the United States will be happy to welcome Turkey to the F-35 family. But first, we have to resolve this issue (with the S-400 - ed.), while providing Turkey with strong air defense
She also answered a question from a journalist who said that Turkey could not receive Patriot systems from Washington .
US approves sale of F-16 to TurkeyJan 27 2024, 04:22 AM • 31367 views
We were in the process of negotiating the sale of the Patriot, and while these negotiations were going on, Turkey went in a different direction
For reference
Due to Turkey's decision to buy S-400 from russia, the country was excluded from the F-35 program led by the United States. The NATO member planned to buy about 100 next-generation fighters built by Lockheed Martin Corp.
The main concern of the United States is that the S-400 could be used to gather intelligence on the secret capabilities of the F-35.
Recall
The Czech Republic has signed a $6.5 billion deal to purchase 24 F-35 fighter jets from the United States, the most expensive purchase in the history of the Czech armed forces.
The fighters will start arriving in 2031 to replace the country's current fleet, which consists of JAS-39 Gripen leased from Sweden.
