Euractiv: Turkey wants to sell S-400 to South Korea for F-35
Turkey may sell the Russian S-400 air defense systems to South Korea in order to return to the F-35 fighter program and complete the deal with the United States, Euractiv sources say. A decision can be made at the NATO summit on July 7-8. At the same time, the State Duma recalled that the resale of the S-400 without coordination with Russia is impossible.
Turkey may sell Russian C-400 anti-aircraft missile systems to South Korea in order to return to the F-35 fifth-generation fighter production program and finalize a deal to buy them from the United States. This is reported by the Euractiv portal, citing intelligence sources.
"Any breakthrough in the F-35 issue may depend on an agreement according to which Turkey will sell its S-400 system to a third country rather than return it to Russia. South Korea is mentioned as one of the possible buyers," the newspaper writes, citing a source in one of the regional intelligence agencies.
Euractiv notes that a decision on Turkey's return to the F-35 production and supply program, from which Ankara was excluded in 2019, may be made at the next NATO summit on July 7-8.
Alexey Zhuravlev, First deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense, in a conversation with Gazeta.Ru" noted that the sale or transfer of the Russian S-400 to any other country is impossible.
"Every military contract must specify that the purchase must never be transferred or resold to a third party, otherwise criminal groups would have extinguished each other with rocket launchers long ago, and the circulation of weapons could not be controlled in any way. This is, of course, a political issue for Turkey, and at one time it made a choice in favor of our S-400 systems, which are truly the best in the world," he said.
How will Trump "please" Erdogan?
US President Donald Trump had previously hinted at Ankara's potential return to the F-35 program. During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House on June 25, the American leader said he could "please" Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to the summit.
"He is a member of NATO. Some people don't see it that way, but it's actually true. He is a strong member of NATO. Yes, I'll probably do something that will make him very happy," Trump said.
Earlier, Reuters reported that the Trump administration had already notified the US Congress of its intention to approve the sale of 613 million euros worth of American engines for the KAAN, a fifth—generation Turkish fighter jet currently under development.
Israel and Greece have consistently opposed any purchase by Turkey of American-made aircraft, arguing that this would undermine their technological superiority and change the military balance in the region.
In an interview with Euractiv in May, Israeli Ambassador to Greece Noam Katz said Turkey's "hostile" behavior in the region was sufficient reason for Washington to reject Ankara's request to resume participation in the F-35 program.
"The decision will be made by the Americans, and America has its own interests. Israel believes that at the moment, the delivery of these aircraft to Turkey is not a desirable step for our region," Katz said.
Sanctions over the S-400
Russia and Turkey signed a contract for the supply of S-400 complexes in 2017, after which the United States repeatedly tried to force Ankara to abandon this deal.
In 2019, during Donald Trump's first term as president, the United States excluded Turkey from the F-35 program. Turkish companies supplied more than 1,000 different types of spare parts and components for these fighters, including airframe and engine parts.
At the same time, the US Senate drafted a bill banning the sale of F-35s to Turkey in response to Ankara's purchase of the Russian S-400, citing the threat of technology secrecy. Turkey was supposed to receive about 100 F-35s from 2018, 10 fighters per year.
In July 2020, the American edition of Defense News reported that the F-35A fighters already manufactured for Turkey would be bought by the US Air Force.
Bloomberg previously reported that Turkey is considering the possibility of returning or selling S-400 complexes to lift US sanctions against the country's defense industry. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in 2024 that the sale of the S-400 by the Turkish side was impossible without coordination with Russia.
Alexander Dubravin
