Turkey reportedly appears ready to return the S-400 air defense systems to Russia, which it purchased nearly a decade ago, a move that would allow it to rejoin the American F-35 fighter jet procurement program. According to a Bloomberg report, the issue was raised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of their meeting in Turkmenistan last week, following similar contacts that had already taken place between officials from both sides. The Turkish presidency and Turkish defense ministry declined to comment, while the Kremlin denied that such a request was made during the meeting between the two leaders.
Turkey’s possession of S-400 missiles and its desire to rejoin the F-35 program were discussed during Erdogan’s meeting with Donald Trump at the White House in September.
Ankara approaches abandoning the S-400s
The close ally of the American president and ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, stated earlier this month that Ankara is approaching the abandonment of the S-400s, predicting that the issue could be resolved in the next four to six months.
As the report notes, Turkey expects that its role as mediator between Russia and Ukraine will encourage Moscow to be receptive to the request from sources who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Ankara is also seeking a refund for the billions of dollars it spent purchasing the S-400 air defense system, according to the same source.
This raises the possibility that Turkey might seek a discount on its oil and natural gas import bills from Russia if this becomes a matter for negotiation.
However, Turkey’s return to the program is far from simple and depends on Congress, not a president’s decision.
It’s worth noting that Turkey was expelled from the F-35 program in 2019, and the following year Washington imposed sanctions under the CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act), which restrict Turkish defense industry access to sensitive American technology.
