President Erdogan to discuss F-35 and F-16 deliveries with President Trump
Turkish President Erdogan said the country "paid for these F-35s" but has not yet received them.
According to TASS news agency on September 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he plans to discuss the transfer of F-35 and F-16 fighter jets with his US counterpart Donald Trump.
"In his previous term, when asked about this issue, Mr. Trump replied that Türkiye paid for these F-35s but did not receive them. The parties involved did not deliver them to Ankara. Mr. Trump said this in front of the press," Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with Fox News. "And now we will negotiate again on this issue. We hope that the United States will also do what is necessary, both in terms of F-35s and F-16s, both in terms of production and maintenance, etc.," Mr. Erdogan added.
Türkiye was removed from the F-35 program by the United States in 2019 after it purchased the S-400 air defense missile system from Russia. Türkiye has manufactured some components, fuselage parts and some systems for these fighters. The United States has said that Türkiye's return to the program would only be possible if it gave up the S-400.
Earlier, on September 19, US President Donald Trump said he would welcome Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to the White House on September 25 and hoped to sign trade and military agreements.
"We are making many Trade and Military Deals with the President of Türkiye, including a large scale purchase of Boeing aircraft, a major F-16 Deal, and continuing negotiations on the F-35, which we hope will conclude positively," President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.