U.S. Pressures Turkey Over S-400 in Talks on F-35 Fighter Jet Reentry

The United States has warned Turkey that it must abandon the Russian-made S-400 missile system if it wants to reenter the F-35 fighter jet program.

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said in a social media post today that discussions are underway, but U.S. law is clear that Ankara “must no longer operate nor possess the S-400 system to return to the F-35 program.”

Barrack said the current dialogue is the strongest in nearly a decade, citing a “new atmosphere of cooperation” between U.S. President Donald Trump his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He added, that the talks have “led to the most fruitful conversations we have had on this topic in nearly a decade.”

He recently told Bloomberg he is convinced the dispute over the S-400 — which has strained relations for six years — could be resolved in “four to six months.” He added that Turkey does not actively use the S-400, but its presence alone blocks any military-technical cooperation with Washington.

When asked whether Turkey is close to abandoning the system, Barrack answered in the affirmative.

Turkey bought S-400s for $2.5 billion in 2017 instead of the American-made Patriot primarily because Washington delayed and offered unfavorable terms for Patriot sales. The purchase led to Turkey’s removal from the international F-35 program and triggered U.S. sanctions under CAATSA. Washington argues the Russian system threatens the security of the F-35 by allowing potential intelligence collection on its stealth profile and is incompatible with NATO’s defense architecture.

Turkish newspaper Nefes reported in September that Russia has proposed buying back the S-400 systems it sold to Turkey in 2019, as Moscow is running low on its own stockpiles and cannot meet other export commitments.