US Senate passes bill banning sale of F-35 fighters to Türkiye
Senators introduce bill to block Türkiye from buying F-35 stealth fighters in protest over Ankara's detention of an American pastor.
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US F-35 fighter jets. Photo:Reuters |
The US Senate Armed Services Committee on May 24 approved an amended version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a provision to remove Türkiye from the list of countries that can purchase US F-35 stealth fighters.Reutersreport
The amendment, introduced by Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Senator Thom Tillis, would block Türkiye from buying F-35s in protest of Ankara's detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.
Brunson has been detained in Türkiye since 2016 on terrorism and espionage charges. Brunson denied all charges at his trial earlier this month. If convicted, he could face up to 35 years in prison.
In addition, US senators also said that onlyintentbuy S-400 air defense missile system from RussiaTürkiye's was also enough tosubject to sanctions under US law. Ankarasigned an agreement to purchase several S-400 complexes with Moscow late last year.
For this bill to become law, the US Senate needs to discuss with the House of Representatives to come up with a unified draft to submit to Congress for a vote later this year.
Türkiye plans to buy more than 100 F-35 fighters and has been in talks with the US about buying missiles.Patriot.Ankara has said it will retaliate if the US passes a law to stop selling arms to the country.