Erdogan: Turkey will turn to other options if US refuses to sell it F-35 jets

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country will consider turning to others for fighter jets if the United States refuses to sell it F-35 fifth-generation and multirole combat aircraft, stressing that Washington's decision to remove Ankara from the jet production program would not deter his country from meeting its security needs.

Speaking at a meeting with the provincial heads of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the capital Ankara on Friday, Erdogan highlighted that Turkey may also reconsider its purchase of advanced Boeing aircraft from the United States.

“Are you not giving us the F-35s? Okay then, excuse us but we will once again have to take our measures on the matter and we will turn elsewhere,” he said.

“Even though we're not getting F-35s, we are buying 100 advanced Boeing aircraft. The agreement is signed... At the moment, one of the Boeing planes has arrived and we are making the payments, we are good customers,” Erdogan said, adding, “But, if things continue like this, we will have to reconsider this.”

PressTV-Turkey plans 2nd shipment of S-400 missile systems

Turkey says the first shipment of Russian S-400 defense systems has been completed and a second shipment is now being planned to arrive in Ankara.

The remarks came a day after Alexander Mikheev, head of Russian official arms exporter company Rosoboronexport, said Ankara and Moscow are in talks on the production of component parts of advanced Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems.

“Now we are negotiating to continue our cooperation on this issue, including the organization of license production of certain component parts of the system in Turkey,” he said.

He also added that cooperation on the S-400 delivery “strengthened the strategic partnership” between the two countries.

PressTV-‘Turkey to retaliate if US imposes sanctions over S-400s’

The Turkish foreign minister says Ankara would retaliate in case the US imposes sanctions on Ankara over purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems.

“Rosoboronexport plans to expand its contacts with the Turkish side as much as possible to implement mutually beneficial projects in the fields of helicopter construction, combat aviation, and air defense,” Mikheev added.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that the United States wants Turkey not to put into operation the S-400 missile system it has purchased from Russia, threatening more sanctions against Ankara.

PressTV-Pompeo tells Turkey US upset over its S-400 purchase

US top diplomat calls Turkish counterpart to express dismay over purchase of Russian S-400.

“It's what we've been talking to the Turks about for months and months. We've told them that it's simply incompatible with the F-35,” he said.

Turkey began receiving deliveries of the surface-to-air S-400 systems on June 12. The deliveries are set to continue through April 2020.

The White House said on July 17 that it was no longer possible for Turkey to be involved in the program for the F-35 stealth jets after parts of S-400 began arriving in Ankara.

PressTV-US F-35 decision to do 'irreparable damage' to ties: Turkey

Turkey blasts the US for its decision to exclude Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program because it has purchased missile defense systems from Russia.

A number of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states have criticized Turkey for purchase of the S-400, arguing the missile batteries are not compatible with those of the military alliance.

The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile system designed to detect, track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometers away. It has previously been sold only to China and India.

PressTV-Pentagon removing Turkey from F-35 program

The United States said on Wednesday (July 17) that it was removing Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program.

Ankara is striving to boost its air defense, particularly after Washington decided in 2015 to withdraw its Patriot surface-to-air missile system from Turkish border with Syria, a move that weakened Turkey’s air defense.

Before gravitating towards Russia, the Turkish military reportedly walked out of a $3.4-billion contract for a similar Chinese system. The withdrawal took place under purported pressure from Washington.

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