U.S. Ambassador’s Claim About Obstacles to Delivering F-35s to Turkey
Mike Huckabee, the United States Ambassador to Israel, claimed in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 that Turkey will not be able to receive advanced F-35 aircraft from the United States.
Pointing to legal obstacles in the U.S. Congress, Huckabee emphasized that “any proposal for the sale of these aircraft to Turkey will not pass the U.S. Senate.” He stated that the main reason for this is Turkey’s continued use of defense systems purchased from Russia, adding, “According to U.S. laws, as long as Turkey does not make fundamental changes to its Russian-origin equipment, it is not possible to deliver the F-35s.”
The American ambassador continued, rejecting the view of strategic equality between the two regional allies, and said: “Israel and Turkey are not considered ‘equal allies’ in Washington’s view. The notion that one can speak of ‘Ally A’ and ‘Ally B’ as equivalents does not align with reality.”
