US letter on F-35s not in spirit of alliance: Turkey

Ankara: Turkey on Wednesday slammed Washington for sending a letter which threatened to remove Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet programme, saying the language used was “not in the spirit of the alliance”. Last week, US acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan wrote to Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, saying that the F-35 fighter jet training programme for Turkish pilots would halt over Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defence system, and all Turkish trainees would have to leave his country by July 31.

Akar, cited by the Turkish Defence Ministry in a statement, said that Ankara was preparing a response to the letter and that it would be sent to the US in the coming days, Hurriyet Daily News reported. Akar said that he was set to discuss the issue with Shanahan by phone on Thursday and that both Ministers will meet in Brussels during a NATO defence ministerial meeting at the end of June. (IANS)

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