2024-10-03 17:00:01
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that difficulties in relations between Ankara and Washington remain regardless of the personality of the president, and wants this policy to change after the US elections.
“I would like the one who comes [президент] didn’t behave like before. Because with America we had a problem with the F-35 not only during the time of Mr. Donald Trump, it remained after him. We were made to feel disappointed again and again. Both Republicans and Democrats. Now we’ll see whether this policy will continue in the new period,” Erdogan told reporters from his pool upon returning from a trip to New York, where he took part in the UN General Assembly.
His words are quoted by the Anadolu agency, Day.Az reports with reference to TASS.
Thus, he answered the question about the prospects for resolving the issue with the exclusion of Turkey from the F-35 program and, in general, about expectations of possible changes in relations.
Erdogan recalled that the debt to Turkey in the context of the F-35 program “is $1.45 billion.” “This is not just some amount. We will continue to make efforts to return these funds. We will see what the results of the November elections bring. I hope that based on the results we will again weigh our relations with the United States, take appropriate steps. And we hope that the result will be useful,” the Turkish President said.
Türkiye was dropped from the F-35 development program in 2019 after purchasing the S-400 regimental kit from Russia. The Republic produced some components, fuselage elements and some systems for the F-35. The head of the International Affairs Commission of the Turkish Parliament, Fuat Oktay, reported that Ankara no longer shows interest in returning to the F-35 program, and therefore calls on the United States to reconsider the restrictions imposed on Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) .