BRUSSELS, June 30. /TASS/. The United States may revisit the idea of selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey if Ankara agrees to transfer its Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to a third country, the Brussels-based news website Euractiv reported in an article on preparations for the NATO summit scheduled to take place in Turkey on July 7-8.
According to the report, South Korea has been mentioned as a possible destination.
Euractiv pointed out that the US had removed Turkey from the F-35 program in 2019 over Ankara's purchase of the S-400 systems from Russia, saying that operating both systems could enable Turkey to collect intelligence on the F-35’s vulnerabilities through the S-400.
Meanwhile, "Israel and Greece have consistently opposed any Turkish acquisition of the US-made aircraft, arguing that it would erode their technological edge and alter the regional military balance," Euractiv noted.