US issues ultimatum to Turkey to cancel S-400 deal with Russia
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The US tells Turkey to abandon Russia's S-400 missile defense system to allow it to rejoin the F-35 fighter aircraft program.
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A truck carrying parts of the S-400 air defense systems exits a Russian transport aircraft after landing at Murted military airport outside Ankara on August 27, 2019. (AP)
Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has stated that the US will only allow Turkey to rejoin the F-35 fighter aircraft program if it agrees to abandon Russia's S-400 missile defense system, Russia Today (RT) reported.
Nuland also hinted that if Ankara becomes more accommodating, Washington may consider lifting sanctions against it.
Speaking with CNN Turk on Monday, Nuland also said that Ankara could be brought back into the F-35 project if the dispute was resolved after Turkey was kicked out of the program in 2019 due to its acquisition of the S-400 from Russia.
The official explained that the US would be "delighted" to welcome Turkey back into the F-35 family “if we could get through this S-400 issue."
Washington previously stated that it had informed Ankara that the S-400 purchase would "endanger the security of US military technology and personnel and provide substantial funds to Russia's defense sector," announcing the CAATSA penalties on Turkey in 2020.
Turkish authorities have already rejected the proposal, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressing that the purchase was a "done deal". Turkish military industry head Haluk Gorgun subsequently stated that his nation was "making air defense systems" of its own, claiming that "we don't need S-300s [or] S-400s."
Ending months of negotiations, the US government on Friday approved a $23 billion deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey, after Ankara ratified Sweden's NATO membership, the State Department announced last week.
As required by US law, the State Department notified Congress of the agreement, as well as a separate $8.6 billion sale of 40 F-35s to Greece.
Turkey will get 40 new F-16s and upgrades to 79 of the jets in its existing fleet, the State Department specified in a news release.
The United States did not green-light the transaction until Turkey's instruments of ratification of Sweden's membership had arrived in Washington, a US official told AFP, highlighting the highly sensitive nature of the negotiations.
Turkey's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO membership on Tuesday after more than a year of delays. The majority of Turkish parliamentarians voted in favor of Sweden's bid to formally become the 32nd member of NATO.
