Euroactiv learns of Turkey's intention to sell Russian S-400s to South Korea

Turkey is considering the possibility of selling S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to South Korea in exchange for deliveries of American F-35 fighters, Euroactiv reports citing sources.

Earlier, Bloomberg wrote that Turkey was discussing returning the systems to Russia. The Kremlin denied the report.

"A decision on the sale of F-35s has not yet been made," the Euroactiv source noted. According to him, any "breakthrough" on F-35 deliveries likely depends on Turkey's consent to sell the S-400 air defense systems to a third country instead of transferring them to Russia. South Korea is mentioned as one option.

At the same time, the source confirmed that the United States will most likely sell Turkey American engines for the KAAN fifth-generation fighters being developed in Turkey. Reuters had earlier reported on the intention of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to approve the corresponding $700 million deal.

Euroactiv notes that U.S.-Turkey cooperation is causing concern in Israel and Greece. Israeli Ambassador to Athens Noam Katz told the publication that Turkey's "hostile" behavior is sufficient reason to reject Ankara's requests to rejoin the F-35 program.

In 2019, the United States excluded Ankara from the F-35 program in response to Turkey's purchase of S-400 systems. Turkey came under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in 2020 for acquiring four S-400 Triumf systems from Russia. A year earlier, the United States had excluded Ankara from the F-35 program, although Ankara had already paid for the first batch of fighters.

Source: Kommersant