US says Turkey does not yet meet requirements for F-35s after Trump indicated he’d back sale

US President Donald Trump’s administration maintains that Turkey does not currently meet the criteria necessary for purchasing F-35 fighter jets from the United States.

The US State Department made the revelation in a letter it sent to Democratic Rep. Wesley Bell earlier this week. Bell had reached out to the White House inquiring about the matter after Trump indicated during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he was inclined to back the long-stalled F-35 sale.

Turkey joined a multinational program to purchase F-35 fighter jets from the United States, but was removed from it in 2020 over its purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems.

The S-400 purchase initiated US sanctions of Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). While Trump announced in his July 7 meeting with Erdogan that he would be lifting those sanctions, the State Department letter indicates that has yet to happen.

“Our policy regarding Turkey’s purchase of F-35s remains unchanged and fully consistent with Section 231 of the CAATSA and section 1245 of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (FY 2020 NDAA),” reads the letter to Bell.

“This includes resolving the S-400 issue by Turkey no longer possessing the system or associated equipment, providing assurances against its future acquisition, and meeting the other statutory certification requirements,” the letter continues.

“Turkey has not yet met these conditions,” it adds, while not ruling out the possibility that Ankara could later meet them.

To address US concerns, Turkey has been in talks with Washington about offloading the S-400 system.

However, the letter indicates that such a transfer has not yet taken place.

The letter appeared to be another example of Trump’s public comments not lining up with the policies being advanced by agencies within his own government.

Earlier this week, Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed a deal to establish a civil nuclear program with Saudi Arabia only for Trump to declare the next day that the already-inked agreement was actually conditioned on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords.

In its letter to Bell, State Department goes on to express concern over Turkey’s relationship with Hamas, while acknowledging that those ties proved critical in coaxing the terror group to accept the Gaza ceasefire deal brokered by the Trump administration last year.

The State Department also praises Turkey for becoming a founding member of Trump’s Board of Peace, which is responsible for overseeing the postwar management of Gaza.