Turkey negotiating purchase of Su-35 fighter jets from Russia
Russia and Turkey are close to signing an agreement for the supply of 36 Russian Su-35 fighter jets to the Turkish Air Force, reports the Turkish publication Daily Sabah, citing its sources.
It is also reported that the parties may agree on the production of some components of the Russian aircraft at Turkish enterprises as one of the conditions for the supply of Russian fighters.
At the moment, there are no official statements from both sides, however, a few days ago, the head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS) Dmitry Shugaev spoke about the consultations held by Turkey and Russia on the likely supply of Russian Su-35 and Su-57 fighters to the Turkish Air Force. At the same time, he expressed the opinion that the real negotiations on this topic won't happen soon.
On October 16, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking in Baku, said that Turkey has alternative options for the supply of fighters if the United States completely deprives Ankara of fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets.
Earlier, Erdoğan said that Turkey is negotiating with Russia possible deliveries of the fifth-generation Su-57 and Su-35 fighters. He did not rule out the possibility of acquiring Russian fighters for the Turkish Air Force. Erdogan, together with Putin, visited the international air show MAKS-2019 at the Zhukovsky International Airport near Moscow, where he paid close attention to these fighters.