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Turkey is seeking Russia's approval to transfer its Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to a third country as part of an effort to remove obstacles to rejoining the U.S.-led F-35 fighter jet program, Bloomberg reported, citing Turkish officials.
According to the report, Ankara has stepped up talks with Moscow in recent weeks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had previously proposed returning the S-400 systems directly to Russia, but the idea was not accepted.
The S-400 batteries remain in Turkey's inventory but are not currently in operational use. If Russia agrees, the systems would be transferred to an unnamed third country.
The Kremlin has not publicly responded to the proposal. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the issue as "extremely sensitive."
Turkey had previously proposed allowing the United States to monitor the operation of the S-400 systems on Turkish territory in an attempt to address Washington's concerns that the Russian systems could compromise sensitive F-35 technology. The proposal was rejected by the White House.
The renewed discussions reportedly began ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, where U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he could reconsider restrictions on F-35 sales to Turkey. However, several U.S. senators have argued that relocating the S-400 systems to a third country may not fully resolve security concerns.
"I haven't made a final decision yet, but I'm inclined to say, look, he's done everything, he's helped us in many different ways," Trump said when asked about the possibility of approving F-35 sales to Turkey.
Turkey purchased the Russian S-400 air defense system in 2019 after failing to reach an agreement with Washington on acquiring Patriot missile systems. In response, the United States imposed sanctions under the CAATSA law in 2020 and removed Turkey from the F-35 program.
