US requested access to the Russian air defence system from Turkey - FM

The US approached Turkey in the hope that the country would grant Washington access to its Russian-made S-400 air defense systems or hand them over to Ukraine, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claimed on Sunday. Ankara refused the request on the grounds that doing so would undermine its sovereignty and independence. Last March, several Western media outlets reported that the US had offered Türkiye a “return to the F-35 program” in exchange for “giving up the S-400 system and sending it to Kiev.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear that Türkiye’s use of the S-400s was a “done deal for us.” In 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on the Turkish defense industry and kicked the country out of its F-35 fighter jet program over Ankara’s decision to buy the Russian military hardware.