Intel: Pentagon holds 'productive' talks with Turkey over F-35 dispute
All eyes are on next week's Glasgow summit as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to talk F-35s and F-16s with US President Joe Biden.
Pentagon officials met with representatives of Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara Oct. 27 in a bid to resolve the two NATO allies’ dispute over Turkey’s expulsion from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
The Defense Department’s top policy director for Europe and NATO, Andrew Winternitz, accompanied Melissa Benkert, a top director at the Pentagon’s acquisitions and sustainment office, in the discussions.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and national security adviser Jake Sullivan also both spoke with their Turkish counterparts by phone Oct. 27. Austin thanked Defense Minister Hulusi Akar for hosting the delegation.
The Pentagon said the talks in Ankara were “productive,” yet whether the two sides agreed on anything concrete remains unclear. “The meeting demonstrates the commitment of the United States government to conclude respectfully Turkey’s prior involvement in the F-35 program,” the Pentagon’s statement read.
