President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the US will withhold selling advanced F-35 fighter jets to Turkey because of Ankara’s decision to deploy powerful Russian surface-to-air system, a possible threat to U.S.’ state of the art stealth fighter F-35. Trump would also punish Turkey with major sanctions over its acquisition of The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA.
Mr. Trump said Turkey’s decision to pursue a $2.5 billion shipment of the Russian S-400 system is “not really fair” and said his administration is currently “working through it.”
“Turkey is very good with us, very good,” Mr. Trump said. “And we are now telling Turkey because you have really been forced to buy another missile system, we’re not going to sell you the F-35 fighter jets.”
The U.S. initially planned to sell 116 of the F-35 fighters, developed under Lockheed Martin Corp. to Turkey but had warned Ankara that it’s on the verge of getting sanctions, in followed by withholding of the sale, if it goes with the Russian Air Defense systems’ deal. According to U.S. officials, the sale threatened the future of Washington-|Ankara relations and raises questions about Turkey’s considerable with the NATO as Russia is trying to cast its own influence on the NATO member country to shake the alliance.
The conflict also lies an economic and global issue between the U.S. and Russia, as both are the World’s biggest arms exporters and the only rivals of each other in this sector. On other hands, when Turkey signed the deal with Russia for S-400, U.S. and NATO allies failed to provide an alternative to made Ankara refrain from buying Russian AD system.
President. Trump was at Lockheed’s Derco facility in Milwaukee last week, struggling to boost U.S. production since Turkey first received the Russian defense system.
“I would say that Lockheed isn’t exactly happy,” Mr. Trump said.
Washington had tried for months to pull Turkey out of S-400 deal, arguing that they are incompatible with NATO defense systems.
It also said if the S-400s were deployed along with F-35 jets, which Turkey has ordered and is helping to produce, they would undermine the defense of stealth fighters.
Whereas, Turkey has said several times that the S-400 is a strategic requirement, in order to secure its southern borders with Syria and Iraq.