The draft US defense budget for 2020 prohibits the transfer of F-35 fighters to Turkey. The relevant document was published on the website of the US Senate.
86 senators voted for the adoption of the document, eight opposed it. The document must be approved by members of the House of Representatives, after which it will have to be signed by US President Donald Trump.
The document emphasizes that the Minister of Defense and the Secretary of state can achieve an exception to this ban if they provide evidence that Turkey refused to supply Russian S-400 missile systems.
On June 27, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the threat to cancel the supply of F-35 fighters is unacceptable, as his country has already paid 1.25 billion dollars. He added that he will demand it back in case of breach of contract.
Earlier in June, it became known that the administration of the American leader is not going to be limited to the refusal to sell Turkey F-35 for the purchase of S-400 and is considering the introduction of three additional packages of sanctions. It was reported that restrictive measures can be applied in July.
In the US and other NATO countries fear that if Ankara will be in service and the S-400, and F-35, the Russian radar systems will learn to calculate and track American fighters.
