Rubio recalled the condition for supplying Turkey with American F-35s

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Cathimerini that Turkey cannot return to the American F-35 fighter jet program while it possesses Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems.

"A provision of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) sets out very strict conditions, so until the conditions are met, the purchase is impossible (...). The problem is the S-400 systems. At the moment this issue has not been resolved, and, according to the legislation, until it is resolved, we cannot carry out the delivery," the head of the State Department said.

In his opinion, Turkey is trying to find a solution.

Rubio also recalled that U.S. President Donald Trump "expressed a desire, if possible, to supply Turkey, since it has already paid for several" aircraft.

The United States excluded Turkey from the F-35 fighter program in response to its acquisition in 2019 of the Russian S-400 missile defense system. The U.S. Congress also passed a law banning any sales of F-35s to Turkey as long as Ankara possesses the S-400 systems.

Washington noted that the S-400s are incompatible with NATO systems, and also expressed concerns that the joint use of the S-400 and F-35 fighters would allow Russia to gain access to data on the fighters' radar stealth and other classified characteristics.

Source: Interfax