Ankara insists on pursuit of F-35s
Turkey’s effort to get CAATSA sanctions lifted to pave the way for its acquisition of F-35 fighter jets from the United States was confirmed by its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his speech in New York and by his foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, in an interview last week to the state-run Anadolu Agency in which he referred to a quest for a “creative formula” on the issue.
These statements confirmed reports by Kathimerini on Sunday and on August 28, that steps are being taken by Turkey and the US to stockpile the Russian-made S-400s, with the aim of lifting CAATSA sanctions and returning Turkey to the F-35 procurement program, but not for their co-production.
“The measures and restrictions imposed on the defense industry by our NATO ally, America, against Turkey, negatively affect the feeling of trust. It is clear that the CAATSA sanctions and our exclusion from the F-35 program are against the spirit of the Alliance,” Erdogan stated.
The US has made it clear that the lifting of CAATSA could be done after the issue of the S-400s, which Turkey procured from Russia, is resolved. Meanwhile, in response, the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) has sent a letter to the presidencies of the Foreign Relations and International Affairs Committees of the US Senate, calling on them to reject such a potential request because of the Turkish government’s violation of US law, Ankara’s failure to behave like a reliable ally, its systematic undermining of regional peace and stability, and its increasing cooperation with Moscow.
The authors of the letter state that as long as cooperation with Russia, support and protection for Hamas, the blackmailing of NATO, aggression against Greece, Cyprus, Armenia, the Kurds of Syria and Israel continue, Turkey should not be rewarded with access to F-35s.
