President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he reminded U.S. President Donald Trump that Türkiye had already met its financial commitments under the F-35 fighter jet program but was still denied delivery of the aircraft.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday during a reception hosted by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş to mark the start of the new legislative year, Erdoğan criticized Washington’s stance on the long-disputed deal.
“I told them, ‘We paid the money, but you still haven’t delivered the F-35s. That’s it. Now we’re following up on it,’” Erdoğan said, underlining Ankara’s insistence that it honored its side of the agreement.
Erdoğan said the matter remains unresolved but vowed that Türkiye will continue to pursue its rights.
Türkiye was removed from the F-35 fighter jet program after its 2019 purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems, triggering U.S. sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Erdoğan has called the exclusion “not suitable for a strategic partnership” and pointed out that Türkiye paid $1.4 billion for aircraft it never received. He told Fox News this week that the matter would be raised again: “Right now, we will discuss these issues once more,” he said, adding that both F-35s and F-16 upgrades are on the table.
Trump himself said he expected a resolution to the long-running rift on fighter jets and Erdoğan previously said Trump was "well-intentioned" on delivering the fighter jets.
Ankara also hopes to see the lifting of sanctions as part of a compromise deal, arguing a “middle ground” could be found on the S-400 dispute.
