Turkey is closer to removing the Russian S-400 system, according to Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey. The US imposed sanctions on some Turkish defense companies due to Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 system, which prevented them from buying US military equipment, including F-35 stealth jets.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Reuters in an interview in Doha that Turkey and the United States have begun work to end US sanctions that were imposed after Ankara bought a Russian missile system and said he expects a solution “very soon.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Fidan told Reuters that Ankara and Washington “will find a way” to lift the measures, known as CAATSA sanctions, during President Donald Trump’s second term in office.
CAATSA, short for Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, is a 2017 US law that allows sanctions on countries that make major arms deals with Russia, Iran or North Korea. Washington used that law in 2020 to penalize Turkey’s defense industry after Ankara bought the Russian S-400 air-defense system, which NATO states say does not fit with Western weapons.
The US authorities have stated that Turkey is ready to abandon the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems in the near future in order to return to the F-35 fifth-generation fighter program.
This was announced by US Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack in a commentary to Bloomberg.
According to him, Ankara can resolve the issue of Russian air defense systems, which have been creating tension with Washington for six years, within four to six months.
Barrak noted that the S-400 is not actually used by the Turkish side, but the very fact of its presence remains a key obstacle to military-technical cooperation with the United States.
“I am convinced that these problems will be resolved in the next four to six months,” the American diplomat said.
When asked directly whether Turkey was on the verge of abandoning the S-400, the ambassador answered in the affirmative. Earlier, it was the purchase of Russian S-400s that led to Turkey’s exclusion from the international F-35 program.
Washington insists that the Russian systems are incompatible with NATO systems and pose a risk of sensitive information leakage.
Ankara’s return to the F-35 program will require the complete elimination of the S-400 from its air defense system.
If the decision is positive, Turkey will be able to resume participation in the procurement of the fifth-generation American fighters. This could significantly change the balance of air power in the region.
At the same time, the final terms and mechanism for the abandonment of Russian air defense systems have not yet been officially disclosed.
As a reminder, it has recently become known that Switzerland plans to reduce the number of F-35s it has ordered in order to purchase more later.
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