‘At a standstill’: Türkiye’s F-35 buy faces headwinds
A Russian air defense system is still standing in the way of a deal that President Donald Trump a last month.
President Trump's plans to sell F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye have been stalled for over a month since he announced them, resulting in a standstill for the deal. The requirement in US sanctions law that Türkiye must dispose of its S-400 Russian air defense system in order to acquire the F-35s has caused tension between the NATO ally and Israel.
Six F-35s have already been paid for and remain in the US since Türkiye's expulsion from the program in 2019. One potential solution is to disable the S-400, but this could further escalate tensions with lawmakers who view it as requiring complete divestment of the system. Another option is selling the Russian system to the UAE, with Türkiye reportedly entering into talks, but they have reportedly not advanced. The result is a limbo state for the F-35 deal, with no clear resolution in sight.
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
