US Says Turkey Still Barred From F-35s After Trump Raised Prospect of Deal
By The Media Line Staff
The United States has reaffirmed that Turkey remains ineligible to purchase or receive F-35 fighter jets, telling Congress that Ankara has not met the legal requirements for lifting restrictions tied to its acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system.
In a letter sent by the State Department to Congress, it was stated that current US law continues to prohibit transferring the aircraft to Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act because Ankara has yet to satisfy the statutory conditions.
According to the department, Turkey must relinquish the S-400 system, pledge not to obtain comparable Russian-made systems in the future, and fulfill all certification requirements before any transfer could move forward.
“Turkey has not yet met these conditions,” the State Department wrote.
Any effort to resolve the dispute over the S-400 must be “transparent, lawful, and consistent with our national security interests,” the letter said.
The department reiterated that Washington intends to continue discussions with Ankara on resolving the S-400 issue while strengthening NATO cooperation. It referenced President Donald Trump’s recent bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara.
During the NATO Summit earlier in the month, President Trump suggested that a sale was being considered: “That’s a decision we’re going to make … it’s a great plane, the best plane by far, and it’s certainly something we will consider,” President Trump said while seated alongside Erdoğan after arriving in Ankara for the summit.
Despite those comments, the State Department said official US policy has not changed and that the legal restrictions remain in force until Turkey fulfills the required conditions.
Washington continues to argue that Turkey’s possession of the Russian-made S-400 system presents an unacceptable security risk because operating it alongside the F-35 could expose the aircraft’s sensitive stealth technology and classified capabilities to Russia.
Turkey was removed from the multinational F-35 program in 2019 after acquiring the S-400 system. The United States later imposed sanctions on Ankara in December 2020 under CAATSA.
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