Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Turkey would turn elsewhere for fighter jets if the United States will not sell it the F-35 jets, adding that a U.S. decision to cut Ankara from the program would not deter it from meeting its needs.

Turkey's military says the first phase of the delivery of the Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems has been completed.

The military said the delivery of a "first group" of components ended on Thursday. A second group of components is due to begin arriving in the capital Ankara soon.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has discussed by telephone with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo the Russian S-400 missile defence system and the U.S. F-35 fighter jet program, a foreign ministry source said on Saturday.
The source did not say when the conversation took place.

Turkey is calling on the U.S. to correct its mistake of removing the country from the F-35 fighter jet program, "which will irreparably damage relations", the Foreign Ministry said on July 17.         

The United States said on Wednesday that it was removing Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program, a move that had been long threatened and expected after Ankara began accepting delivery of an advanced Russian missile defense system last week.

President Donald Trump said on July 16 the U.S. will not sell Turkey advanced F-35 fighter jets over Ankara's acquisition of the Russian S-400 anti-air system, bemoaning the fact and blaming his predecessor for the impasse.     

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday it is "not fair" to either Turkey or the United States that Washington cannot sell Ankara billions of dollars worth of F-35 fighter jets after it bought a Russian air defense system.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said it is "not fair" to either Turkey or the United States that Washington cannot sell Ankara billions of dollars worth of F-35 fighter jets after it bought a Russian air defense system,

US President Donald Trump's nominee to become the next secretary of defense re-stated that Turkey cannot have the F-35 advanced stealth fighter jet and Russia's S-400 air defense system, which Moscow started delivering last week.

The government has voted on a draft treaty with the United States for the new F-16 fighters. The contract is for 8 aircraft worth $ 1 billion and $ 200 million. The military minister assured that the reduced price did not take away the combat capabilities of the fighters.