In a move that could break a years-long defense procurement deadlock with Washington, Turkey is finalizing the sale of its Russian S-400 air defense systems to Gulf states, potentially clearing the way for Ankara to buy US F-35 fighter jets, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reports Friday.
For Ankara, offloading the Russian hardware resolves a years-long costly diplomatic and military bottleneck and controversy - a situation which dramatically improved after President Trump gave a clear greenlight during the annual NATO summit in Ankara this week.
But apparently it needs Moscow's formal permission before doing this, as Bloomberg reports, "Turkey is seeking Russia's consent to transfer air defense systems it bought from Moscow to a third country, an effort aimed at clearing the way for the purchase of US-made F-35 fighter jets."
"Ankara made the approach in recent weeks, just months after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed returning the S-400 missile systems to Russia — an idea that gained little traction, said Turkish officials, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private," the report continues.
When asked by reporters whether he would lift legal restrictions on the transfer of the stealth fighter jet to Turkey, Trump responded, "We have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal. And certainly something we will consider - yeah."
By disposing of the Russian equipment, Ankara is resuming talks on F-35 fighter jets and securing supplies of critical engine components for its own KAAN combat aircraft program, Hurriyet wrote further.
"Hopefully, when the F-35s are delivered to Turkey, the whole world will say America kept its promise," Erdogan said at a Wednesday closing news conference for the NATO summit.
Dumping its Russian S-400s could allow Turkey's government to be released from US sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA.
However, this would have to get past Congress first. The law, adopted in 2017, requires the US government to impose strict economic and political restrictions primarily on Russia, Iran and North Korea. But Turkey was subsequently hit by these sanctions after purchasing S-400 air defense systems from Russia in a deal signed in September 2017, with deliveries having begun in July 2019.
The big fear over NATO-member Turkey having the S-400 systems and F-35s at the same time was that secret technology critical to the American fighter jet would be compromised. Possessing the S-400s requires Russian advisory guidance and know-how.