What did 17 July 2019 change for Turkey and the F-35?
A look back at the removal of Turkey from the Joint Strike Fighter programme, set against a busy week in Kyiv and Luxembourg.
What happened on 17 July 2019, and why did it matter beyond Ankara and Washington? On that day the United States removed Turkey, a NATO ally, from the Joint Strike Fighter programme. The decision followed Turkey's acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile system. Turkey had planned to buy 100 F-35 Lightning II jets.
The removal came five days after the first shipment of S-400 components reached Turkey from Russia, on 12 July 2019. Ankara received it despite calls from the United States and NATO to cancel the deal.
A week of other decisions
For readers of Ukrainian public life, the same week brought developments closer to home. On 11 July 2019 the Verkhovna Rada adopted a new Electoral Code. On the same day the EU Court of Justice annulled the 2018 sanctions against Viktor Yanukovych and his team.
In Kyiv, the Atlas Weekend music festival ended on 13 July 2019.
Taken together, these items show a week in which security alignments, electoral law and sanctions policy were all in motion. The Turkish decision of 17 July 2019 was the one that directly concerned the defence ties between a NATO member and Moscow.
