Turkey has sold its Russian S-400 missile defense systems, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, in a move that clear...

Turkey has sold its Russian S-400 missile defense systems, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, in a move that clears the path for Ankara to finally receive the six F-35 fighter jets it paid for back in 2018. Prominent Turkish political analyst Abdulkadir Selvi reported the decision had been made and was set to be announced Friday. The S-400s will be transferred to either Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, making Gulf states the likely buyers of the Russian-made systems. The sale has been in the works for months. Talks between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan produced the framework, while options like dismantling the S-400s or storing them at a U.S. base were ruled out early in negotiations. Fidan traveled to Moscow before Donald Trump arrived in Ankara for the NATO Summit to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Vladimir Putin. Russia's end-user agreement required Moscow's sign-off before Turkey could transfer the systems to a third country, and Russia apparently did not object in principle. Once the transfer to the Gulf state is completed, Trump is expected to send a formal notification letter to Congress. That congressional notification would then allow Turkey to pursue delivery of the six F-35s it was kicked out of the program over in 2019, when Washington excluded Ankara after it refused to drop the S-400 purchase. Turkey originally paid for those jets in 2018. Seven years later, it appears the price of getting them back was letting go of the Russian systems that caused the dispute in the first place. #Turkey #F35 #NATO