US opens F-35 window to Ankara

Washington has reopened the window for Ankara's return to the F-35 co-production program, on the well-known condition that it removes its Russian S-400 missile defense system from Turkey. Similar discussions had taken place in the past, even with proposed alternatives for relocating the S-400s even to neighboring Azerbaijan, but to no avail. 

This time the proposal came from Acting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland in an interview with CNN Turk.

After recalling that Turkey chose the S-400 while it was in negotiations with the US over the US Patriot missile system, Nuland stressed that "if we could get through this S-400 issue, which we would like to do, the US would be delighted to welcome Turkiye back into the F-35 family."

Nuland suggested that Turkey should start discussions on the country's air defense, stating that the US has been offering to...