In an effort to close the saga of Türkiye's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system that led to Ankara's exclusion from the US F-35 program, Washington has proposed that it take control of the S-400 in exchange for the Eurasian country's return to the F-35 program, Greek news site Kathimerini reported on September 22, citing exclusive sources.

Although Türkiye joined the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program in 2007 and is one of the program's partner countries along with other NATO allies, Ankara was removed from the program by Washington in 2019 in protest at the Turkish government's purchase of Russia's S-400 "Fire Dragon", which Washington said posed a risk to the country's fifth-generation fighter jet and broader NATO defense systems.

According to Kathimerini, in order to lift the ban on selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, US officials made a proposal this summer that would allow Türkiye to continue keeping the S-400 systems on its territory but essentially transfer control of them to the US.

As part of the discussions, senior US officials proposed moving Russian-made weapons systems to the US-controlled portion of the İncirlik Air Base in southern Türkiye. This proposal is believed to not put Türkiye in a “dilemma” because neither the terms of the contract with Russia nor any binding terms would be violated.

Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and former Pentagon official, confirmed to Kathimerini that White House and Pentagon officials presented the proposal to senior Turkish government officials in July.

"My sources in the region say that during a visit to Türkiye on July 1-2, Celeste Wallander, the US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, and Michael Carpenter, the Special Advisor to the President and Senior Director for Europe on the White House National Security Council, recently discussed reviving the F-35 deal with their Turkish counterparts. In exchange for rejoining the F-35 program, Türkiye was offered to hand over the S-400s to the US or move them to the US-controlled area at Incirlik," Rubin said.

İncirlik, located in Adana province, is home to the US Air Force's 39th Air Base. The day after the visit, the US Embassy in Ankara reported that Ms. Wallander and Mr. Carpenter discussed with Turkish officials developing "additional areas for strengthening the partnership and goals for enhancing the long-term defense relationship."

When asked by Kathimerini about the exact status of negotiations between the two sides, a Pentagon spokesperson said: "Since 2019, we have conveyed to Türkiye our position on their purchase of the S-400 system and the consequences of doing so, which are enshrined in law. There has been no change in the US position or law on this subject."

According to Kathimerini's source, Türkiye's response at this stage is not positive, but discussions are expected to continue this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) taking place in New York, USA.

"The Turkish partners have refused and countered that they will just keep them (S-400s) in their original packaging inside Türkiye. However, the deal is not dead yet, as reviving the F-35 deal will be on the agenda for the US and Türkiye when their leaders and security officials meet next week at the UN General Assembly," Rubin added.

Despite warnings from the US and other NATO allies, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan brokered a $2.5 billion deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the S-400 missile system in 2017.

Washington also imposed sanctions in December 2020 on Türkiye's military procurement agency as a penalty for the S-400 purchase under the CAATSA Act, which requires sanctions for transactions deemed harmful to US interests.

Türkiye has focused on buying F-16s after being kicked out of the F-35 program in an effort to modernize its aging air force. The US government approved a $23 billion deal to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey earlier this year, after Ankara approved Sweden’s NATO membership.

Minh Duc (According to Turkish Minute, eKathimerini)