MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. Russia’s Rostec state corporation is ready to supply Su-35 fighter jets to Turkey if Ankara expresses an interest in their purchase, Rostec chief Sergei Chemezov stated on Thursday.

"If our Turkish colleagues express an interest, we are ready to discuss the deliveries of Su-35," the Rostec press service quotes Chemezov as saying.

On July 17, the US State Department spokesperson said in a written statement that Turkey’s decision to purchase Russian missile defense systems S-400 makes it impossible for Ankara to remain in the US F-35 fighter jet program.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry called on the US to reconsider the decision to exclude Turkey from the F-35 program.

The Su-35S generation 4++ supersonic fighter jet performed its debut flight on February 19, 2008. The fighter jet is a derivative of the Su-27 plane. The Su-35S weighs 19 tonnes, has a service ceiling of 20,000 meters, can develop a maximum speed of 2,500 km/h and has a crew of one pilot. The fighter jet’s armament includes a 30mm aircraft gun, up to 8 tonnes of the weapon payload (missiles and bombs of various types) on 12 underwing hardpoints. The Su-35S has been in service with the Russian Army since 2015.

China has been the first foreign buyer of Russian Su-35 fighter aircraft. The contract worth about $2.5 billion on the deliveries of 24 fighter jets to China was signed in 2015. The contract also stipulates the delivery of ground equipment and reserve engines.

Indonesia is the second foreign buyer of Russian Su-35 fighter jets. Reports emerged in early 2018 that Russia had signed a contract with Indonesia on the delivery of 11 fighters. Under the contract, Russia is due to deliver the first fighter jets to Indonesia this year. The fulfillment of the Indonesian contract ran across some difficulties related to US sanctions.

Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that if the US refuses to supply the F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, it will consider signing a contract with any other state, including Russia.