The United States on Wednesday said that the F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence-collection platform "that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities," according to a White House statement.
This comes after Turkey officially begun receiving parts for its Russian S-400 air defence missile system, which the United States has objected to. Washington also added that Turkey's decision to purchase the Russian S-400 air defence system renders its continued involvement with the F-35 impossible.
"The United States has been actively working with Turkey to provide air defence solutions to meet its legitimate air defence needs, and this administration has made multiple offers to move Turkey to the front of the line to receive the US PATRIOT air defence system," the statement read.
The United States further said that the purchase of the S-400 "undermines the commitments all NATO Allies made to each other to move away from Russian systems."
"This will have detrimental impacts on Turkish interoperability with the Alliance," they added.
"The United States still greatly values our strategic relationship with Turkey. As NATO Allies, our relationship is multi-layered, and not solely focused on the F-35. Our military-to-military relationship is strong, and we will continue to cooperate with Turkey extensively, mindful of constraints due to the presence of the S-400 system in Turkey," the statement lastly outlined.
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