Turkey is urging the US administration not to let Congress use the Russian S-400 issue as an excuse to deny F-16 fighter jets, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.
The United States previously sent an official notice to Turkey about its exclusion from the program for the supply of the latest F-35 fighters due to Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems. The States canceled the joint memorandum on the F-35 with Turkey, signing it with the seven remaining partners in the F-35 project – the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada and Norway. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan subsequently announced a US proposal to buy other fighters, but not the fifth, but the fourth generation – the F-16. This issue is also to be agreed upon in the US Congress – the State Department is lobbying this issue, convincing congressmen that the deal “serves the interests of Washington.”
“There are some positive elements, you need to be careful. This is a long process, we hope for a positive result … There are some procedures. Both parties need to work on this. We also need to work with Congress. We urge the US administration not to allow Congress to use the S- 400 as a pretext,” Akar told reporters.
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