Alwaght- The US has stopped "deliveries and activities" related to Turkey's procurement of the F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter jet over Ankara's plans to buy Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile system.
"We very much regret the current situation facing our F-35 partnership with Turkey, and the DoD is taking prudent steps to protect the shared investments made in our critical technology," Pentagon spokesman Charles Summers said in a statement, referring to the Department of Defense.
"Should Turkey procure the S-400, their continued participation in the F-35 program is at risk."
Following protracted efforts to purchase air defense systems from the US with no success, Ankara decided in 2017 to purchase the Russian S-400 air defense system.
Washington has long cautioned Turkey against the purchase of the S-400, warning it might be used to covertly obtain critical information on the F-35, including their detection range, which could then be relayed to Russia.
Turkey has said the S-400 Triumph air defense system will be delivered by Russia despite the US pressure on the NATO member.
“The contract with Russia on S-400s remains in force and these defensive systems will be delivered to Turkey. Now talks on this issue are underway,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, according to Russian media.
According to multiple reports, the production has been estimated to be completed in May for subsequent delivery to Turkey in July.
Early March, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country is not a slave to an America in which Washington decides which weapons system Turkey can purchase. He stressed that its deployment of Russia's S-400 air defense systems will proceed as planned.
Ankara’s resilience against US pressure over the purchase of the S-400 systems remains rock solid, Erdogan clarified, stressing that Turkey is a sovereign nation which has the right to choose its trade partners and arms suppliers.
“It’s done. There can never be a turning back. This would not be ethical; it would be immoral. Nobody should ask us to lick up what we spat,” Erdogan noted.
