By Theodore Shoebat

The US Senate has just voted to not give American F-35s to Turkey, as we read in a report from RT:

US Senators have voted to block the sale of F-35s to Turkey, slamming their NATO ally for plans to buy Russian S-400 missile batteries. Ankara warned of “an alternative” should the deal be called off.

The first of the 100 US-made F-35 fighter jets were to be delivered to Turkey on June 21 but now the whole deal might be off as the US Senators voted to kill the sale. The bill, which is yet to be approved by President Donald Trump, passed the Senate floor on Monday, with 85 votes in favor and 10 against.

Lawmakers chose to remove Turkey from the F-35 program, citing two reasons – the first is Turkey’s plans to purchase S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries from Russia. The adopted bill states that such a deal “is sanctionable under current United States law.” The agreement to deliver two S-400 batteries was concluded between Moscow and Ankara last year, and the prospects of a key NATO ally in the region buying Russian arms immediately unnerved the US politicians.

The second reason is the detention of a pastor Andrew Brunson by Ankara. Brunson, who is a US citizen, is being held on charges of espionage and assisting the plotters of an unsuccessful 2016 military coup attempt. Brunson denies all allegations, and his prosecution continues “unlawfully and wrongfully”, argued Senator Jeanne Shaheen, one of the authors of the bill targeting Ankara.