US President Donald Trump is expected to inform his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Washington is ready to allow the sale of fifth-generation F-35 fighters to Ankara.
Modern.az reports that "The New York Times" wrote about this, citing sources.
According to the publication, it is not yet clear how Trump will take this step and how he will circumvent the ban imposed by Congress on the sale of F-35s to Turkey. Sources in the US administration believe that leaders can exchange official letters to initiate the process of returning Turkey to the "F-35 program."
It is reported that the US President will visit Turkey on July 7, where he will participate in the NATO summit.
The newspaper notes that US officials do not rule out that the White House chief may change his position. At the end of June, the Euractiv portal wrote that if Turkey abandons the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems it acquired from Russia, but sells them to a third country instead of returning them to Russia, the US may reconsider the sale of F-35 fighters.
It should be recalled that in 2019, the US removed Turkey from the "F-35 program" due to its acquisition of Russia's S-400 air defense systems. Washington justified this by stating that Ankara could collect information about the fighter's weaknesses by simultaneously using both S-400 and F-35 systems.
The delivery of F-35 aircraft to Turkey is also actively opposed by Israel, whose relations with Ankara have deteriorated, and Greece, Turkey's NATO ally and historical rival. Both countries believe that the delivery of F-35s to Turkey could upset the balance of power in the region.
