The move by the United States to exclude Turkey from the F-35 programme is consistent with the U.S. policy of punishing nations for acting as sovereign entities, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said.
"This is the U.S. policy line to punish those who show the slightest signs of sovereignty, defend their own economic interests and try not to obey the dictates of Washington," Sputnik cited Grushko as saying.
The U.S. previously said that the Pentagon was working to unwind its ties to Turkey in the international F-35 programme following the country's move to acquire Russian S-400 air defence systems.
