Turkey to continue “consultative talks” on F-35 fighter jets with U.S

The Turkish Defense Ministry said that consultations between the Turkish and U.S. Defense Ministry delegations on Turkey's request to purchase F-35 fighter jets from the United States will continue.

The second round of consultation talks on the F-35, the first of which was held in Ankara in October 2021, was held in Washington yesterday, the ministry announced on Twitter.

The statement said that "delegations agreed to continue consultations and the next meeting is scheduled to take place in Ankara in the spring of 2023."

After the first round of talks, the Turkish Defense Ministry had said the next round would take place "in the following months," but it took more than a year for the sides to meet.

Ankara had ordered more than 100 F-35s and manufactures parts for them, but was pulled out of the program in 2019 after acquiring Russian S-400 missile defense systems that Washington said threatened the jets.

Turkey later changed its plan to buy new-generation F-16 fighters and modernization kits for its existing F-16 fleet. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is currently in Washington to discuss the continuation of the deal.