By Sarp Ozer</p> <p>WASHINGTON (AA) – Ankara expects eight partner countries of the F-35 military aircraft development project to fulfill their responsibilities, Turkey's minister of national defense said Wednesday.</p> <p>“As strategic partners, we continue to work on economy and security,” Hulusi Akar told Anadolu Agency following a meeting with his U.S. counterpart Patrick Shanahan in Washington to discuss recent political and military developments.</p> <p>Akar said the U.S. has presented Turkey a new proposal on the air and missile defense systems.</p> <p>Tensions between the U.S. and Turkey have reached a fever pitch in recent months with Turkey set to begin receiving the advanced S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile system that Washington said will jeopardize Turkey's role in the F-35 fighter jet program and which could trigger congressional sanctions.
Turkey decided in 2017 to purchase the S-400 system following protracted efforts to purchase air defense systems from the U.S. with no success.
