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The Trump management is moving guardant pinch a arguable arms waste worthy $700 cardinal to NATO state Turkey contempt apprehension complete Ankara’s closeness pinch Russia and violent groups successful nan Middle East.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., ranking personnel of nan House Foreign Affairs Committee, said nan management notified him of nan State Department’s determination to bypass Congress and nonstop Turkey nan $700 cardinal successful defense articles, mostly combatant jets.
"In this case, nan State Department did not moreover effort to warrant its decision. It did not invoke immoderate emergency authority, did not coming a written rationale, and for months refused to make a good-faith effort to little maine connected implications of nan waste for nan U.S.-Turkey relationship, Turkey’s continued possession of nan Russian S-400 system, and different location information concerns," Rep. Meeks said successful a connection shared pinch Fox News Digital.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan observes a subject workout successful Izmir, Turkey, connected June 9, 2022. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan observed nan last time of a large-scale associated subject workout successful Turkey's occidental Izmir state connected Thursday. (Photo by Xinhua via Getty Images)
Turkey signed a woody pinch Moscow successful 2017 to acquisition nan Russian S-400 aerial defense strategy and acquired it successful 2019, causing siren within nan NATO alliance. The U.S. and NATO considered nan move an intelligence threat that undermines NATO cohesion and readiness.
The S-400 is designed to detect, track, and utilization stealth craft for illustration nan F-35.
"Turkey’s possession of some nan S-400 and nan F-35 is truthful vulnerable because nan 2 systems operating successful proximity aliases networking together could springiness Moscow valuable intelligence for shooting down F-35s flown by Americans and our allies," according to a study from nan Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
The U.S. sanctioned Turkey successful 2019 for nan acquisition and excluded Ankara from nan F-35 combatant pitchy program. Congress besides passed a rule banning Turkey from nan F-35 programme while it continues to person nan S-400 aerial system.
The State Department dismissed concerns astir nan U.S. arms income and Turkey’s possession of Russian-made aerial defense systems.
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MUGLA, TURKIYE - JANUARY 12: A subject chopper takes portion successful nan property shape of Turkiye's subject workout Sea Wolf (Denizkurdu) successful Mugla, Turkiye connected January 12, 2024. The exercise, supervised by nan Turkish navy, was conducted successful nan eastbound Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Sea. (Orhan Cicek/Anadolu via Getty Images)
"The President has been clear; Türkiye is simply a beardown personnel of NATO. Türkiye is simply a important contributor to Alliance operations and missions," a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The package is simply a awesome boon for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arsenic he prepares to big nan 2026 NATO summit successful Ankara.
"The US motor waste is captious for Turkey’s astir important defense project, nan KAAN fifth-generation combatant jet. Turkey is processing its ain engine, but it won’t beryllium fresh for respective much years. Without U.S.-made GE engines, KAAN would struggle to move from a prototype to a serially produced combat aircraft," Gonul Tol, elder chap astatine nan Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.
Tol, who’s successful Ankara for nan NATO summit, said nan woody is much meaningful than conscionable a defense waste for President Erdogan, it’s a cornerstone of his foreign argumentation and a awesome root of home governmental legitimacy.
President Donald Trump greets Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a acme to support ending nan much than two-year Israel-Hamas warfare successful Gaza aft a breakthrough ceasefire deal, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, successful Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (Evan Vucci AP Photo/ Pool)
"If nan craft succeeds, Ankara believes it will not only grow Turkey’s defense exports but besides fortify NATO’s wide business capacity and reenforce Turkey’s strategical importance wrong nan alliance," Tol said.
President Erdogan, who has a lukewarm narration and receives predominant praise from President Trump, has continued to aggressively lobby nan United States to readmit Turkey to nan F-35 program, despite pushback from Congress.
On Monday, 4 Republican friends of President Trump — Reps. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., and Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY., — released a associated connection complete nan projected sales. "As Greek American Members of Congress, we are profoundly concerned regarding reports of a projected subject waste of pitchy engines to Turkey. Turkey continues to beryllium a destabilizing unit successful nan region done its expansive and disputed maritime claims, continued forbidden business of Cyprus, and rhetorical demonization of Israel."
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The connection continued, "The Eastern Mediterranean region holds important imaginable to go a beacon of commercialized opportunity, power cooperation, and location security, an effort we person actively supported done authorities and engagement, but Turkey’s rhetoric and actions progressively frighten these efforts, cardinal American allies, and location stability. For example, Turkey's harboring of Hamas and position arsenic nan only NATO personnel to garbage sanctions against Russia is profoundly troubling. We are actively engaging pinch nan Administration and House activity to get further accusation regarding this reported waste and to definitive our beardown guidance to immoderate imaginable of Turkey’s reintegration into nan F-35 programme without complete compliance pinch CAATSA requirements," their connection said.
A spokesperson for nan Turkish authorities did not reply to a petition for comment.
