Erdoğan to discuss Turkey's return to F-35 programme with Biden

President Erdoğan has said that he will discuss Turkey's removal from the F-35 fighter jet programme during his meeting with U.S. President Biden. "There are a lot of issues that were left unsolved regarding the defense industry. The most important of them is the F-35 issue," Erdoğan said.

Sunday June 13 2021 03:25 pm

Duvar English

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that he will discuss Turkey's removal from the F-35 fighter jet programme with U.S. President Joe Biden during the two leaders' critical meeting in Brussels.

Speaking to reporters before traveling to Brussels for a NATO summit, Erdoğan criticized the U.S. for "not keeping its promises" regarding the F-35 programme.

"There are a lot of issues that were left unsolved regarding the defense industry. The most important of them is the F-35 issue," Erdoğan said on June 13.

"The U.S. doesn't abide by the contract despite the fact that Turkey fulfilled its promises. Turkey made its payments," he noted.

The leaders' meeting on June 14 comes at a time of heightened tensions between the countries. Topping the list of disagreements at their talks on the sidelines of a NATO summit will be Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems.

Washington says the S-400s would compromise the defenses of U.S. stealth F-35 jets if deployed alongside them. It has thrown Turkey off the F-35 programme, canceled Ankara's order for 100 planes and seeks to replace Turkish firms that had been making jet parts. Turkey wants more than $1 billion in compensation.

Erdoğan on June 13 said that Turkey purchased the S-400 systems following Washington's decision to not sell Patriot missiles to Turkey.

The Turkish President also said that they should use the meeting to move on from past troubles, adding that he would raise the White House decision to recognize the 1915 massacres of Armenians by Ottomans as genocide, which had angered Turkey.