The defence ministry on Monday said it is monitoring Turkey’s application to participate in the F-35 fighter jet programme, expected to be resolved within four to six months, US ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack said on Monday.

Speaking on a panel in Istanbul, Barrack said the United States will not sell F-35 jets to Turkey, which is instead planning to purchase Eurofighters.

“President Trump called this situation ‘crazy’,” he said, adding that Turkey already has a significant defence industry, including its own domestic drone industry, led by President Erdogan’s son in law Selcuk Bayraktar, supplying Ukraine and its own jet programmes.

Speaking to Cyprus Mail, the defence ministry said “the matter is entirely at the disposal of the US government. Cyprus is monitoring the situation closely and will act accordingly if developments affect our national security or regional stability.”

Barrack said the main obstacle has been Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft system, which is now inactive.

“The problem with Turkey was the S-400, I believe that these issues will be resolved in the next 4 to 6 months,” he said.

He added that Turkey currently has four F-35s stored in California and participated in fuselage assembly, but “they don’t have access” to the aircraft.

The ambassador described the relationship between Presidents Trump and Erdogan as strong.

“President Trump and President Erdogan had a bilateral meeting at the White House that was amazing. They resolved most of the ongoing issues, including the S-400,” he said.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee reaffirmed that Turkey will not receive F-35 jets under American law while Russian military systems remain in its arsenal.

“Who got the F-35s? Israel. Turkey will not get F-35s,” he said, emphasising that significant changes to Turkey’s military hardware would be required to remove the obstacles.

Barrack highlighted Turkey’s continued defence capabilities, saying, “By the time this F-35 discussion is over, someone will have copied this aircraft.”

Both ambassadors signalled that Ankara’s path to the F-35 programme remains restricted, despite ongoing diplomatic engagement with Washington.