«We Don't Want the Situation to Turn into the 'Snake Story'» - Cavusoglu on F-35 Deal

Turkey is not prepared to wait for the return of the F-35 fighter jet purchasing program from the United States, and aims to secure a $1.4 billion refund. This was stated by Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in an interview with CNN Türk, as reported by RIA Novosti.

“We want to receive our money now. We want the amount we paid to be returned. Our ministry colleagues have gathered and considered the steps we will take from now on. We are taking care of ourselves now. We do not want to sit and wait for Congress's approval; we do not want the situation to turn into a ‘snake story’ like it did with the Patriot air defense systems,” said Cavusoglu.

Earlier, the United States had officially notified Turkey about its removal from the advanced F-35 fighter jet supply program due to Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems. The U.S. canceled the joint memorandum on the F-35 with Turkey, having signed it with the other seven partners of the F-35 project: the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada, and Norway.

Later, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan indicated the U.S. proposal to purchase not fifth-generation fighters, but fourth-generation F-16s.