Turkey to retaliate if US halts F-35 purchases

Turkey will retaliate against the United States if Washington refuses to purchase Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets to Ankara, Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said.

According to the minister, Ankara had fulfilled all requirements to procure Lockheed Martin's F-35 jets from the United States and that Ankara expected all sides to carry out their responsibilities.

He also said that Turkey will take every initiative to protect its firms from Washington sanctions, a day after the United States imposed sanctions on several Iranian and Turkish companies in a move targeting Iranian airlines, Reuters reported.

A U.S. Senate committee passed its version of a $716 billion defense policy bill on Thursday, including a measure to prevent Turkey from purchasing the F-35 jets.