NATO army bought Russian missiles and now it can’t give them away

The US plan to sell Turkey F-35 stealth fighter jets has hit a roadblock, impeded by a Russian missile system Turkey purchased years ago, according to Semafor. Even though Turkey holds the hardware, lawmakers in Washington won't approve the deal. The sole buyer in the talks hasn't budged, and dismantling the system is now being considered.

Russia often employs arms exports to attract buyers into its sphere of influence, and the war it instigated has inflated the price of those ties – leaving governments that bought Russian air defense systems clashing with the supplier that sold them. The Russian system is hindering the US sanctions law, which bars Turkey from the F-35 program while it retains the Russian S-400.

Ankara already paid for six of the jets, which have sat in the United States since Washington expelled Turkey from the F-35 program in 2019. The US plan to sell the jets to Turkey was announced by President Donald Trump over a month ago, yet no progress has been made. One potential solution is to sell the S-400 to another country, but Turkey has reportedly opened talks with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently, with no significant progress.

American lawmakers insist Ankara must relinquish the system fully before receiving the F-35s. Republican Senator Rick Scott stated on Semafor that Turkey should not obtain the jets unless it becomes a genuine partner – meaning if they possess the S-400, they cannot have the F-35. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Jim Risch, a long-standing critic of the deal, declared the process at a standstill.

The UAE, Israel, and Congress are the main blocks. While Israel and the Congress oppose the deal, the US alone faces the challenge of selling the jets without Russia's approval.