Congressional lawmakers remain wary of efforts to bring Turkey back into the F-35 program, a move that is reportedly under consideration inside the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump is said to be open to a deal to sell Turkey the advanced weapons systems if both parties reach an agreement to render the Russian S-400 air-defense system that Turkey purchased inoperable. Its acquisition of the S-400 initially caused Turkey to be booted from the F-35 program in 2019 under U.S. sanctions law.

Some on Capitol Hill emphasized that Turkey must be required to meet that basic precondition before it can be readmitted into the F-35 program.

But others argue that Ankara, which has been an often-unreliable ally to the United States and has been increasingly aggressive toward Israel, should face tougher hurdles to getting the cutting-edge system. Those opponents include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reportedly lobbied against providing Turkey with the system during his visit to the Oval Office this week.

“Under Erdogan’s hostile regime, Turkey has repeatedly shown itself to be an ally in name only,” Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), a leading Turkey critic in the House, said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “Its blatant disregard for international laws, its actions that are contrary to American interests coupled with the nation’s military ties with Russia and the S-400 missile systems, and its increasing divergence from NATO’s strategic interests are troublesome.”

Bilirakis continued, “Turkey’s involvement in the F-35 program presents a conflict of interests, not to mention US law, that could jeopardize both the program’s success and the broader security of NATO nations. I will continue to monitor developments with this program and argue against Turkey’s participation.”

Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), who has also been involved in efforts critical of Ankara, took a similar view.

“I have consistently opposed the sale of F-16s and advanced weapons systems to Turkey, and am similarly opposed to readmitting Turkey to the F-35 program while Erdogan continues to threaten reliable democratic allies in the region, including Greece, Cyprus, and Israel,” Pappas said in a statement. “Turkey has still not addressed the issues that led to its ejection from the F-35 program six years ago, and until they do so there is no circumstance under which the U.S. should consider readmitting them or lifting the CAATSA sanctions rightfully placed on them.”

Pappas, a co-chair of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, is mounting a run for New Hampshire’s Senate seat, to replace Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who is retiring.

“For years, President [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan has antagonized Turkey’s neighbors, including fellow NATO allies, by violating Greek sovereign airspace, illegally occupying parts of the Republic of Cyprus, harassing ships in the Aegean Sea, and threatening to invade Greece and Israel,” Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) said in a statement. 

“Despite the overall easing of tensions between Greece and Turkey, I am particularly troubled by the sudden uptick in violations of Greek air space with U.S.-provided F-16 jets in Ankara’s possession, and the violations of Greece’s territorial waters which have occurred throughout the last year,” Titus continued. “This behavior is unacceptable for a NATO ally and poses a continuous threat to the security of a vital European partner. Against this backdrop, a delicate balance in the region would be upended if Turkey were to rejoin the F-35 program.” 

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said he had no issue with the Trump administration discussing the subject. But, he continued, he’s “very wary about Turkey,” especially in light of Ankara’s recent crackdown on political dissent, including the recent arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, an opponent of Erdoğan. Kaine also said he’d like to see rapprochement between Turkey and Israel as the F-35 talks proceed.

“I don’t know that that needs to be a condition [of getting the F-35s] but if I was having this discussion with Turkey, that would be one of the things I would be talking about,” Kaine said. “And then that probably also gets Syria into the conversation a little bit.”

“I don’t think you’d want to do something really favorable to Turkey on the F-35 even if they made a concession on the S-400 system without at least getting into [its hostility toward Israel], trying to bring that temperature down,” Kaine continued.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) emphasized that eliminating the S-400 is a precondition for Turkey’s reentry into the program.

“As long as they’ve got an agreement to where the Russian S-400 is not available and it’s been locked up and away, I would take a really hard look at it, but I’m open for discussion,” Rounds said. “They’re an ally, they’re a member of NATO, but I’m really concerned that that S-400 is not available for operation.”

He rejected the idea of adding additional conditions, however, noting that the S-400 was the reason that Turkey was expelled from the program in the first place.

The issue came up at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing for Tom Barrack, the Trump administration’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Turkey, with senators pressing Barrack to confirm that he understood the bipartisan opposition to Turkey’s readmission into the program and the current legal barriers that bar it.

Jonathan Schanzer, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who testified at a House committee hearing on Turkey last month, said that Turkey’s readmission into the F-35 program “simply must not happen.”

“The government in Ankara meets America’s criteria to be named a state sponsor of terrorism. Hamas, Islamic State, and Al-Qaeda are among the groups that enjoy Turkish support,” Schanzer said. “Meanwhile, the democracy deficit in Turkey continues to grow amidst a widening autocratic power grab by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.”

He emphasized that Turkey also still has not given up the S-400 system. 

“In other words, Turkey is not just an unreliable ally. Its policies are indistinguishable from our adversaries,” Schanzer said. “Only America’s strongest allies should be allowed into the F-35 club.”