US-Turkey ties at risk over F-35 jets

co-partner of the F-35 project and already paid for part of its share, a group of US senators in April drafted a bill calling for excluding Ankara from the project, citing Turkey’s defense deal with Russia and its imprisonment of the evangelical pastor, Andrew Brunson.

Brunson, a US citizen who has lived in Turkey for over 20 years, was arrested in the aftermath of the botched coup. He was charged with “espionage” and “terrorism”, and faces up to 35 years in jail.

The US administration led by President Donald Trump has called for his release.

Last week, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said Turkey would respond if the US Congress passed the bill on blocking the delivery of the jets.

The Turkish government has shown its willingness to amend its ties with the US, but Washington seems to have no response, said Ilnur Cevik, a presidential aide.

“We want to overcome the problems with the United States. Close cooperation with the United States is essential,” said Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in its announcement to hold elections on June 24.

“Erdogan’s remarks meant ‘Let’s open a new chapter’. Did the United States understand this?” Cevik asked.

Murat Yetkin, editor-inchief of Hurriyet Daily News, said that now almost all existing problems between Turkey and the US have been tangled with each other and reflected in the F-35 issue.

The jet controversy could cause a real collapse of the Turkey-US ties, he warned.

A crucial meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Washington scheduled on June 4 will be an opportunity to put all the matters on the table.