US ambassador to Turkey says F-35 issue to be resolved 'by year-end'
The new US ambassador to Ankara says that Congress is open to taking a fresh look at the F-35 issue.
ANKARA — Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Ankara, believes a resolution to the long-running dispute over Turkey’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program may be possible by the end of the year.
“My belief is that by year-end, we have the possibility of having a solution,” Barrack told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency in an interview released on Sunday.
Background: Turkey was blocked from purchasing the next-generation stealth F-35s from the United States in 2019, during US President Donald Trump’s previous term. The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, passed by Congress to deter defense transactions with Russia, was invoked over Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.
“Congress is willing to take a fresh look at it,” Barrack said, adding that Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would likely instruct their officials to “figure out the way and end it” and Congress will back a reasonable resolution.
