USA: “We are ready to welcome Turkey back to the F-35 family”

US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said that the United States is ready to accept Turkey back into the “F-35 family” if it resolves the issue with the S-400.

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria #Nuland: The #USA is ready to return #Turkey to the program for the production of American #F35 fighter jets if it is possible to resolve the issue with the #Russia|n S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems acquired by Ankara. pic.twitter.com/HUH1fKut5D

— Karina Karapetyan (@KarinaKarapety8) January 30, 2024

She added that the United States must resolve “the issue of the strong air defense that Turkey needs.” The American official, who has been in Ankara for the last two days for consultations within the framework of the strategic mechanism of the two countries, recalled that the CAATSA (Countering America’s Enemies Through Sanctions Act) sanctions are related to the decision of the Turkish government to purchase S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia, and emphasized “If we can resolve the S-400 issue, which is what we want to do, the US will be happy to welcome Turkey back into the F-35 family.”

🚨🇹🇷🇺🇸 ABD'den Türkiye'ye F-35 ve S-400 mesajı!

🗣️ ABD Dışişleri Bakan Yardımcısı Vekili Victoria Nuland: (CNN Türk)

💢 S-400 meselesini halledebilirsek, ki bunu yapmak istiyoruz. ABD, Türkiye’yi F-35 ailesine geri almaktan memnuniyet duyacaktır.

💢 Bu konuyu aşabilirsek,… pic.twitter.com/ej1SojPGPC

— gdh defence (@gdhdefence) January 30, 2024

During her last visit, Nuland no longer demanded the mandatory withdrawal of the S-400, but spoke about resolving the issue. In any case, the United States is ready to provide Turkey with F-35s, contrary to what Athens wants to believe.

It is no coincidence that V. Nuland made this statement immediately after T. Biden’s letter to Congress asking to approve the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. She also added that “We need to resolve this other issue first and at the same time make sure Turkey has a strong air defense.”

Victoria Nuland admitted in an interview with CNN Turk that it was no coincidence that she ended up in Ankara immediately after Turkey approved Sweden’s membership in NATO. “We are very glad that Turkey said yes to Sweden’s entry into NATO. As you know, while we were waiting for this, I will not say that there was stagnation, but it was the most important issue in our relations.

So one of the things that Foreign Secretary Blinken has asked me to do is to revitalize the rest of our relationship and get back to talking about what we need to do in 2024, including preparing for the NATO summit in Washington in July. So it was a very optimistic visit to plan everything from an economic, security and human relations perspective as we all come back together in full cooperation in this very important relationship.”Nuland said.

She also said that “While you (Turkey) were working in your parliament, we tried to explain to our Congress that it is very important for American security that Turkey deploys the F-16 fleet, that in order to share the burden among the allies, it is important that (Turkey) be fully involved and engaged in this level.”

Nuland concluded by confirming that a document signed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was couriered to Washington to present to Congress the US government’s official request for the sale of F-16 aircraft to Turkey: “In fact, your president was very excited when he signed it.

The courier boarded the plane, delivered it to the State Department, and we sent our notice to Congress. The notice period will expire 15 days after Friday, and then we will begin implementation.”

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