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Congressional appropriators move to tie up F-35 deliveries to Turkey

The new House foreign aid bill would prohibit spending federal dollars to transfer the jets unless Ankara abandons its plans to buy missile defenses from Moscow.
U.S. soldiers stand guard as a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft is moved on the eve of the 52nd Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol - RC1634F4C3A0

Congress is turning to the power of the purse in its efforts to force Turkey to choose between the US F-35 jet and a Russian missile-defense system.

The House foreign aid spending panel last week advanced annual spending legislation that would prohibit the Donald Trump administration from transferring the fifth-generation stealth aircraft to Turkey unless Secretary of State Mike Pompeo certifies that Ankara has scrapped plans to buy the S-400 from Russia. Lawmakers in both chambers have previously sought to block the F-35 sale as stand-alone bills, but including the language in the foreign aid spending package increases the likelihood that it will become US law.

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