Turkey slams US Senate bill to block F-35 delivery

A handout photo taken and released by the Turkish Presidential Press Service on June 17, 2018 shows Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (L) attending an AKP

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Tuesday criticised the US Senate-s decision to block delivery of F-35 jets to Turkey, describing it "unfortunate" and "regrettable".

"The decision is an unfortunate move," Yildirim said in Turkey-s Izmir province, adding that "Turkey is not without alternatives. Such attempts are regrettable and goes against the spirit of strategic partnership".

The US Senate on Monday approved a 716 billion defence budget bill, including an amendment prohibiting sales to Turkey of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin, Xinhua news agency reported.

The amendment claimed that Turkey-s purchasing of the S-400 air defence system from Russia increases tensions and risks to the NATO alliance. It also demanded the release of US Pastor Andrew Brunson held in Turkey who faces terror charges.

According to the amendment, US President Donald Trump should certify that Turkey does not threaten NATO, purchase defence equipment from Russia or detain US citizens.

The bill still needs to be passed by the US House and is not expected to become law until later in the summer, reported Daily Sabah. Earlier, Turkey-s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that they would turn to other markets if the US does not allow it to buy F-35 jets.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever