President Erdoğan's remarks on US meeting and F-35s: 'I reminded Trump'
AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke about the procurement of F-35s from the US.
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The new legislative year has begun at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).
Responding to journalists' questions at the reception, AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave a clear message regarding the payment made to the US despite Turkey's removal from the F-35 fighter jet program.
Referring to his meeting with US President Donald Trump, Erdoğan stated, "I reminded US President Trump that we paid for the F-35 jets. We are following what will happen."
PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN AT THE TBMM RECEPTION
The 4th Legislative Year of the 28th Term of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey has begun. A reception was held at the Parliament for the new legislative year. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also attended the reception. Making a brief statement to journalists, President Erdoğan revealed a detail for the first time from his meeting with US President Donald Trump in recent days.
"I REMINDED TRUMP THAT WE PAID FOR THE F-35 JETS"
Erdoğan said he reminded Trump of the F-35 issue. President Erdoğan stated, "I reminded Trump that we paid for the F-35 fighter jets; we will see what happens."
ERDOĞAN-TRUMP MEETING
President Erdoğan had traveled to New York last week for the UN summit. Erdoğan and Trump held a meeting within the scope of the summit. The F-35 issue was also on the agenda at the summit, where topics such as the latest situation in Gaza and Syria were discussed.
TURKEY'S REMOVAL FROM THE F-35 PROGRAM
NATO member Turkey was officially removed from the F-35 program, of which it was a production partner, in 2021 after purchasing the S-400 missile defense system from Russia for a total cost of 2.5 billion dollars in 2019.
The US and NATO viewed Turkey's purchase of this system as a problem in terms of defense integration within the alliance; they warned that the Russian S-400 system posed a threat to the alliance's defense and that this system could collect intelligence on the F-35s.
Due to this system purchased from Russia, sanctions were imposed on Turkey under the law known as the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).