You're reading: RFE/RL: US official says Turkey won’t get F-35 jets unless it doesn’t buy Russia’s S-400s

RFE/RL: US official says Turkey won’t get F-35 jets unless it doesn’t buy Russia’s S-400s

Published June 27, 2018. Updated June 27 at 10:23 am

An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during an air show at the graduation ceremony of Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim Israeli Air Force base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, on December 27, 2017. The Israeli military has used its newly acquired F-35 stealth fighters in combat making it the world's first to do so, the air force commander said on May 22, 2018.

Photo by AFP

A top U.S. State Department official says Turkey has been warned that its purchase of F-35 stealth fighter jets is in jeopardy unless it drops a plan to buy S-400 missile defense systems from Russia.

Turkey, which is a NATO ally, also is in danger of violating U.S. sanctions against Russia\’s defense sector if it goes through with the purchase, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell testified on June 26.