Related
A Trump administration official defended the move, citing US President Donald Trump’s close ties with President Erdogan.
“The administration always maintains maximum transparency with Congress,” the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Anadolu.
“In addition to maintaining regular communication with the Hill, (US) Ambassador (to Türkiye Tom) Barrack, Department of War officials and State Department officials have all briefed Congress in person on this topic,” the official added.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump said he is likely to take a step that would make Türkiye “very happy” when asked about Ankara’s request for F-35 fighter jets and jet engines.
Trump is expected to travel to Ankara for the NATO summit on July 7-8, where he is set to meet with President Erdogan.
US suspended Türkiye from the F-35 fighter jet programme in 2019 after objecting to its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system, claiming the system would endanger the fighter jets and is inoperable with NATO systems.
Türkiye has repeatedly said there is no conflict between the two and has proposed a commission to study the issue.
Türkiye also said it fulfilled its obligations on the F-35s and that its suspension broke the rules.
Ankara maintains that the fighter jets would strengthen not only Türkiye but also NATO.
