20 July 2019; MEMO: Russia is ready to discuss supplying Su-35 fighter jets to Turkey, the head of the state-owned Rostec corporation said in a statement yesterday.
“If our Turkish colleagues express a desire, we are ready to work out deliveries of Su-35 fighter jets,” Sergei Chemezov said, according to the statement.
He added that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov had told the Intrafax news agency that there is a possibility for Moscow and Ankara to begin negotiations over the sale of Russian fighter jets.
This comes after Washington said on Wednesday that Ankara’s decision to purchase Russian S-400 missile defence systems “renders its continued involvement with the F-35 impossible”.
“Our military-to-military relationship is strong, and we will continue to cooperate with Turkey extensively, mindful of constraints due to the presence of the S-400 system in Turkey,” the US press secretary added.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised Washington’s decision to remove the country from the F-35 programme.
“This unilateral step contradicts the spirit of alliance and does not rely on any legitimate justification,” the ministry said in a press release.
“It is not fair to remove Turkey, a main partner, from the F-35 Program, and also the claim that S-400 system would jeopardize the F-35s is baseless.”
