Turkey Fulfilling Commitments Under F-35 Fighter Jet Program Despite US Threats
13:28 22.05.2019(updated 13:29 22.05.2019)
ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkey complies with all of its commitments under the trillion-dollar F-35 fighter jet program and expects the United States to do the same, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday.
"Turkey fulfills its obligations in the co-production [of F-35 jets] with all seriousness. And our legitimate expectation is that the F-35 program will be running as planned [on the part of the United States]," Akar told reporters as quoted by the NTV broadcaster.
The minister added that Turkey had already received four F-35s and that four of its pilots were training in the United States.
Two more F-35 planes are expected to arrive in Turkey in November. They will be stationed at the airbase in Malatya, a city in Turkey's eastern Anatolia region, Akar said.
Speaking about the agreement to purchase Russia's S-400 air defense systems, Akar reiterated that it was a "done deal."
Turkey is one of the participants in the US F-35 jet program. The United States has threatened Turkey with sanctions earlier for its planned acquisition of S-400s, as well as suggested it may delay or cancel the process of selling the F-35 aircraft to Ankara.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this month that the purchase of S-400s fell under Turkey's "sovereign rights."
© Sputnik
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