Turkey's F-35 talks spark Greek government criticism

Turkey's deputy foreign minister Levent Gümrükçü told an Atlantic Council event in Washington that negotiations with the United States on the possible return of F‑35 fighter jets are "closer than ever," and that a joint political‑military working group may resolve the issue. He added that the talks also cover broader defence‑industry cooperation and that Ankara now trusts the U.S. to keep its commitments.

Greek officials, citing the government’s senior staff, denounced the prospect of a sale, accusing Washington of pressuring Turkey and warning that any F‑35 transfer would repeat a "national defeat" for Greece. They referenced the 2017 Russia‑Turkey S‑400 deal, the 2019 exclusion of Turkey from the F‑35 programme, and past U.S. sanctions under CAATSA, claiming the Greek administration has distorted facts about the embargo's origins.