Türkiye must abandon Russian S-400s to rejoin F-35 program, says US ambassador

US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack argued that if Türkiye wants to return to the US-led F-35 jet production and procurement program, it must not possess the Russian S-400 air defense system.

Barrack, a key ally of US President Donald Trump and also the Special Representative for Syria, said in a post on X that the two countries are in talks regarding the Russian missiles Ankara purchased about a decade ago and its “desire to rejoin” the F-35 program.

Trump had raised this issue during a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the White House in September, indicating he was open to Türkiye purchasing F-35 jets.

Nevertheless, the ambassador’s statements emphasize Washington’s insistence, also supported by other NATO members, that Türkiye must abandon the Russian missile system to resolve the dispute.

“As stipulated in US law, for Türkiye to return to the F-35 program, it must no longer use or possess the S-400 system,” Barrack said.

According to the ambassador, the close relationship between Trump and Erdoğan has led to “the most productive discussions on this issue in almost a decade.”

“Our hope is that these discussions will result in a breakthrough in the coming months that meets the security requirements of both the US and Türkiye,” Barrack said.

Last week, Barrack had said that the issue could be resolved within the next four to six months and that Türkiye was close to divesting itself of the S-400s.

Türkiye expresses hope that the US might lift the sanctions imposed on its defense industry without demanding that Ankara give up the Russian missile system.

Ankara purchased the S-400s following the 2016 coup attempt. During the coup attempt, putschist forces used American F-16 fighter jets to bomb the Turkish Grand National Assembly and other key targets.

According to Bloomberg, the country, which has test-fired the S-400 missiles at least once, keeps the missiles near Ankara.