Barack on S-400 and F35: I don't even talk about the Greece-Turkey issues, they will ban me from going to Mykonos again

“I believe that the S-400 issue will be resolved soon. From my boss’s (Donald Trump’s) perspective, joining the F-35 program is not a problem. Greece has the S-300 and the F-35. As for the Greece-Turkey issue, this is another historical issue that I will not even try to address, because they will ban me from going to Mykonos again!” he said with a humorous tone, at the end of his statement.

It is worth mentioning that Barak had also spoken in December 2025 from Doha about the possibility that he wants Turkey to remove the S-400s it possesses, so that it can return to the F-35 program, saying that “my belief, he said, is that these issues will be resolved in the next 4-6 months”.

Last September, during Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the White House, the S-400 issue was discussed with Donald Trump and it was rumored that some solutions were proposed, but without any follow-up. The statements he made at the end of 2025, and now Barak, bring the issue back to the forefront and it remains to be seen whether - as he claims - a solution will be provided soon.

It is noted, however, that the American ambassador has occasionally caused dissatisfaction in circles in Turkey, as it is estimated that he interferes in matters of state policy that his position does not allow him to do. President Erdogan's government partner, Devlet Bahçeli, had reacted strongly to Barak's statement that the Halki Theological School would open in 2026. "Their recklessness and arrogance have no limits," President Erdogan's partner had said characteristically about the American diplomat.