Turkey and Russia have begun talks aimed at letting the former buy Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets from Russia in a direct snub to the Trump administration which nixed a deal that would’ve allowed NATO-ally Ankara to add the new F-35 Lightning II to its combat aircraft fleet.
The talks came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Russia this week to personally view the new Su-57 at an airshow in Moscow.
“Negotiations are underway, and they will continue,” Erdogan told reportersat the air show. “Representatives of our ministries remain in Russia after the MAKS-2019, and they are working there.”
The U.S. canceled the sale of 100 F-35 fighter jets to Turkey in July after Ankara decided to buy a rival missile air defense defense system from Russia.
Russia’s S-400 is considered one of the most advanced air-defense systems in the world.
Visitors look at the Sukhoi Su-57 fifth-generation fighter during the MAKS-2019 International Aviation and Space Salon opening ceremony in Zhukovsky outside Moscow on August 27, 2019. (ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)
The U.S. has long argued Turkey’s purchase of the Russian system not only risks the security of NATO members, it also violates the 2017 law threatening sanctions for any purchase of sophisticated Russian technology — the Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017.
Trump blamed the Obama administration for never reaching a deal to sell a comparable American missile defense system to Turkey.
Erdogan told state-run media Friday he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.N. General Assembly next month, where he said they will talk about the withdrawal of Kurdish troops from northwest Syria. He added Turkey would “take care” of itself if the United States continues to block the Lockheed Martin F-35.
UPI contributed to this story
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