The United States will urge Turkey to purchase their products instead of the Russian Su-35 and Su-57, said US Deputy Secretary of Defense John Rood on Tuesday.
“This is the direction in which we will urge Turkey to move (make a decision) in favor of weapons produced by the United States, which takes into account compatibility. But, of course, Turkey is an independent country that can make its own decisions. But we are ready to have partnership with them about it”, – Rood said at an anti-missile defense event.
So he answered the question of how Turkey’s possible purchase of Russian fighters could affect US military cooperation with it.Rood did not specify what exactly Washington is ready to offer Ankara in this regard.
Earlier, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan examined Russian fighters at the MAKS-2019 air show and inquired from Russian President Vladimir Putin about the possibility of buying such. Putin answered in the affirmative. The Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Yuri Ushakov subsequently confirmed that there is interest in the topic, but given its “hypersensitivity”, it is too early to talk about negotiations.
The United States previously excluded Turkey from the production and procurement program of its latest F-35 fighter-bombers for Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems.