Ankara Slams US Decision To Remove Turkey From F-35 Program As Unilateral Move

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2019) The Turkish Foreign Ministry called the United States' move to unwind Ankara's involvement in the F-35 fighter jet international program over its imports of Russian S-400 missile systems a unilateral step which might bring irreparable damage to bilateral relations.

"The White House and the US Defense Department announced that our country would be removed from the F-35 program due to our imports of S-400 air defense systems. This unilateral move is not related to the alliance spirit and has no legitimate foundations. It is unfair that Turkey, which is one of the [United States'] main partners on the F-35 program, is excluded from it," the ministry said in the statement.

"We are calling on the United States to abandon this mistake which might cause the irreparable damage to our strategic relations," the statement added.