US suspends F-35 deliveries to Turkey over Russian S-400s purchase – Pentagon — RT World News

KW: As New Zealanders have found out Erdogan is his own man and doesn’t bow to anyone Trump or Adern. He will probably be relieved the deal has fallen through as he will now be able to negotiate to get hold of the Sukhoi Su35 from Russia instead. It will be much cheaper too. We reported that Turkey slammed the door on Washington’s demands that it cancel its S-400 contract with Moscow in the wake of continued US threats that it will deny transfer of F-35s to Turkey over the Erdogan government’s plans to move forward with taking delivery of the advanced Russian anti-air defense system in July. Turkish officials stated “We have signed a deal with Russia, and this deal is valid. Now we are discussing the delivery process,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday during a press conference while standing beside his Russian counterpart. He added that “We have an agreement with Russia and we are bound by it.” Confirming Turkey is set to take delivery from the Russians in July of this year, Cavusoglu added that every aspect of Turkish defense purchases were legitimate and in accord with international law.

The United States and other NATO allies that own F-35s fear the radar on the Russian S-400 missile system will learn how to spot and track the jet, making it less able to evade Russian weapons in the future. In an attempt to persuade Erdogan to drop its plans to buy the S-400, the United States offered the pricier American-made Patriot anti-missile system in a discounted deal that expired at the end of March. And while Turkey had shown interest in the Patriot system, it would not do so at the expense of abandoning the S-400 and extending Russia’s strategic ties with Turkey.

The United States has stopped shipping equipment related to the F-35 fighter jet to Turkey. Washington’s move comes after Ankara insisted on purchasing the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

Source: US suspends F-35 deliveries to Turkey over Russian S-400s purchase – Pentagon — RT World News