[Reuters]
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is about to meet with his US counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington and discuss, among other things, the end of Turkey’s exclusion from the F-35 advanced fighter program.
The two-day visit is Fidan’s first under the Trump administration.
Fidan and Rubio are scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. Washington time.
They will discuss Ukraine, Palestine and other issues.
Turkey also wants Syria sanctions lifted and the Kurdish forces fighting in Syria eliminated.
More relevant to Greece is Turkey’s effort to lift the sanctions against Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The sanctions were imposed after Turkey bought S-400 anti-aircraft missiles from Russia.
Turkey, which was to be involved in F-35 production was excluded.Greece will start receiving F-35s over the next few years and Turkey’s re-entry into the program would mean the loss of the strategic advantage that the procurement of the multirole stealth aircraft would achieve.