Turkey receiving neither fighter jets nor refund from US: Erdogan
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the US has not delivered the promised F-35 fighter fighters to Turkey, nor has it repaid the $1.4 billion it paid as part of the F-35 program.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a news conference in Belgrade, Serbia, on Sept. 7, 2022. (Bloomberg)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, on Monday, that the US has not delivered the promised F-35 fighter fighters to Turkey, nor has it repaid the $1.4 billion it paid for F35s, adding that talks on F-16 deliveries have also halted.
"There were people threatening us about purchasing S-400, while not offering anything in return. We are now in talks over F-16 deliveries but are being refused. We were promised F-35 jets but they [the US] didn't keep their words despite us paying about $1.4 billion. There are no fighters and the money has not been returned. We always keep our word and expect this from our partners," Erdogan said as quoted by the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara is awaiting US approval for the F-16 fighter jet sale.
Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 program in April 2021 after purchasing Russia's S-400 air defense systems. Later that year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Turkey had received a US offer to purchase F-16 fighter jets, which were one generation behind the F-35s. The US Congress has been discussing whether to impose restrictions on jet sales in its annual defense budget bill for fiscal year 2023, while the US State Department has been attempting to persuade senators that the arrangement is in Washington's best interests.
