A senior U.S. congressman has suggested that transferring Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to the United Arab Emirates could be the ideal solution to the ongoing rift between Türkiye and the United States, potentially allowing Ankara to reenter the F-35 fighter jet program.
“We have discussed this matter extensively. The core issue here is how this can be implemented. As you know, negotiations were held with the UAE. This might be the best solution,” U.S. Congressman Darrel Issa told the daily Hürriyet in an interview in Ankara on Sept. 10.
Issa paid a visit to Ankara, where he was hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. He also attended the 250th anniversary reception of the U.S. at the Ankara Embassy along with U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack.
Türkiye and the United States have long been negotiating the former’s return to the F-35 joint fighter program and the removal of all remaining sanctions stemming from its 2019 purchase and deployment of Russian S-400 air defense systems.
In July, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to lift the sanctions imposed on Türkiye under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), but that requires Türkiye to give up possession of the S-400s.
Issa recalled talks between Türkiye-U.S. and the UAE for the re-export of the air defense systems to the latter.
On sanctions, Issa recalled the promises voiced by Trump, saying “A decision has already been made from the President down to the lowest level; there are no sanctions against Türkiye.”
On Türkiye’s return to the F-35 program or sales of these jet fighters to Türkiye, the congressman underlined that there is a huge backlog of orders.
“Right now, in my opinion, the highest priority needs to be the modernization of the F-16s. The modernization of existing aircraft is a high priority for both Türkiye and the U.S.,” he stated.
Türkiye has agreed to buy 40 brand-new F-16 fighter jets from the U.S., but negotiations continue over pricing. It dropped the initial request for 79 modernization kits from the package and decided to assign Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) to upgrade the existing F-16 fleet.
