Erdogan to Discuss F-35 Fighter Jet Acquisition with Trump

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will negotiate with U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the acquisition of F-35 fighter jets. “Right now we are preparing to hold negotiations on this issue once again,” Erdogan stated in an interview with Fox News.

He expressed hope that the United States would do everything required of it regarding both the F-35 and the production and maintenance of F-16 fighter jets.

At the end of June, the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Thomas Barrett, announced that Ankara and Washington could resolve the issue of Turkey's exclusion from the F-35 production program by the end of 2025.

After Turkey's acquisition of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defense systems, the U.S. Department of Defense removed Turkey from the American next-generation F-35 fighter jet program, as the U.S. had originally demanded Turkey to abandon the deal, which, however, did not happen.