Turkey has slammed the United States over its decision to end the F-35 fighter jet deal with Ankara after its purchase of the S-400 missiles from Russia.
Turkey warns of 'irreparable damages' to US ties over Washington's F-35 decision
18 Jul 2019 - 14:23
Turkey has slammed the United States over its decision to end the F-35 fighter jet deal with Ankara after its purchase of the S-400 missiles from Russia.
“This one-sided step neither complies with the spirit of alliance nor is it based on legitimate reasons,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It is unfair to remove Turkey, one of the partners in the F-35 program,” the ministry added, dismissing as “invalid” American claims that the advanced Russian air defense system S-400 would be a danger to the F-35s.
“We invite the US to take back this error, which will pave the way to irreparable damage to our strategic relations,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
The statement was made shortly after the White House officially banished Turkey from the fifth-generation stealth jet production program after repeated warnings to Ankara not to proceed with the purchase of the Russian missile defense systems.
The White House earlier on Wednesday called the S-400 “a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about [the F35’s] advanced capabilities.”
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