US Hopes Turkey Will Abandon Russian Air Defense Systems for F-35s

Washington hopes that Ankara will abandon its Russian S-400 air defense systems in exchange for American F-35 fighter jets, stated US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barak. He noted that both sides are already negotiating Turkey's return to the F-35 program, calling it the "most effective" initiative of the past decade.

The ambassador also mentioned that Turkey would need to give up the Russian S-400 air defense systems acquired in 2017 in order to participate in the program.

“We hope that in the coming months, these negotiations will lead to progress that will satisfy the security needs of both the United States and Turkey,” he wrote on X social media.

In 2017, Turkey purchased four battalions of the S-400 air defense missile systems from Russia for $2.5 billion. Subsequently, Washington demanded that Ankara abandon the Russian systems in favor of American Patriots, but Turkey refused. In response, the US excluded Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program.