WASHINGTON/ANKARA, July 18 – Türkiye believes it is closer to resolving its disputes with the United States over the F-35 fighter jet programme and Russian-made S-400 air defence systems after a new round of talks in Washington, senior Turkish officials said.
Hulusi Akar, chairman of the Turkish parliament’s National Defence Committee, said discussions with senior members of the US House Armed Services, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees had taken place in a positive and constructive atmosphere.
The meetings focused on defence and security cooperation, Türkiye’s possible return to the F-35 programme and regional developments.
Akar said US Representative Mike Turner, who heads the American delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, had described talks over Türkiye’s potential return to the programme as “very promising”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said after the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8 that US President Donald Trump had taken a positive approach towards the delivery of F-35 jets to Türkiye.
Deputy Foreign Minister Levent Gümrükçü said a joint political and military working group had examined several options intended to satisfy US legal requirements while addressing Türkiye’s political and economic concerns.
“This time we really feel closer,” Gümrükçü said at an Atlantic Council event in Washington. “We feel that we might be able to resolve this issue and leave that problem behind us.”
He did not disclose the possible terms of an agreement or provide a timetable for a resolution.
Washington removed Türkiye from the F-35 programme in 2019 after Ankara received the Russian S-400 systems, arguing that the equipment could expose sensitive information about the advanced fighter aircraft.
The United States later imposed sanctions on Türkiye’s Presidency of Defence Industries under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, known as CAATSA.
Ankara has rejected US security concerns and says it met its financial and contractual obligations under the F-35 programme.
Akar said both sides were working to resolve the S-400 dispute and suggested progress could be made soon. Türkiye’s return to the F-35 programme would follow once the S-400 obstacle was removed, he added.
He denied reports that Ankara had proposed transferring the Russian systems to the United Arab Emirates.
“We did not say, nor are we saying, that the S-400s are going to the UAE,” Akar said.
Türkiye’s Defence Ministry said work concerning the S-400 systems was continuing “in multiple dimensions” and that the public would be informed once concrete developments emerged.
Gümrükçü described the S-400 purchase as a one-off procurement made to address an urgent air-defence gap after Türkiye failed to obtain alternative systems from its NATO allies.
Turkish officials also dismissed opposition from Israel, Greece and some US lawmakers to Ankara’s possible return to the F-35 programme.
Gümrükçü described those objections as “unnecessary politics”, arguing that NATO members should welcome stronger military capabilities among allied countries.