Turkey urges F-35 partners to fulfill responsibilities

By Sarp Ozer

WASHINGTON (AA) - Ankara expects eight partner countries of the F-35 military aircraft development project to fulfill their responsibilities, Turkey's minister of national defense said Wednesday.

“As strategic partners, we continue to work on economy and security,” Hulusi Akar told Anadolu Agency following a meeting with his U.S. counterpart Patrick Shanahan in Washington to discuss recent political and military developments.

Akar said the U.S. has presented Turkey a new proposal on the air and missile defense systems.

Tensions between the U.S. and Turkey have reached a fever pitch in recent months with Turkey set to begin receiving the advanced S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile system that Washington said will jeopardize Turkey's role in the F-35 fighter jet program and which could trigger congressional sanctions.

Turkey decided in 2017 to purchase the S-400 system following protracted efforts to purchase air defense systems from the U.S. with no success.