U.S.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was not considering
sanctions against Turkey for purchasing Russian air defense systems, one
day after the U.S. retaliated by removing Turkey from its F-35 stealth
fighter jet program.
"We're not looking at that right now," Trump said during an Oval Office celebration of the U.S. Special Olympics team.
A spokesman for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed "unease"
about being removed from the program in a telephone conversation
Thursday with White House national security adviser John Bolton,
according to broadcaster CNN Turk.
The U.S. cut Turkey out of the program after Ankara accepted delivery of some Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems.
"Unfortunately, Turkey's decision to purchase Russian S-400 air defense
systems renders its continued involvement with the F-35 impossible,"
White House officials wrote Wednesday. "The F-35 cannot coexist with a
Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn
about its advanced capabilities."
U.S. officials believe NATO ally Turkey's decision to use Russian
advanced radar technology could compromise the alliance's military
systems in the country. The S-400 could potentially be used to target
NATO jets in Turkey, including the U.S.-made F-35, which is NATO's
newest stealth fighter jet.
Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and
sustainment, told reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday that the U.S. and
its other F-35 partners "were aligned" in the decision to suspend and
begin formally removing Turkey from the program.
"Much of the F-35's strength lies in its stealth capabilities, so the
ability [of the S-400] to detect those capabilities would jeopardize the
long-term security of the F-35 program," she said.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry, dismissing the Pentagon's concerns, said the
decision to exclude it from the F-35 program was a mistake.
The ministry’s statement also warned that the U.S. decision would irreparably harm Washington-Ankara relations.
VOA