Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed optimism on Thursday that his authorities would get well the $1.4 billion it put towards buying Lockheed-Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet amid talks with the USA.
“We’ll get this $1.4 billion of ours a method or one other,” state-owned Anadolu Information Company quoted Erdogan as telling journalists on a flight coming back from an official go to to West Africa.
Why It Issues: The US authorities expelled Turkey from a membership of countries allowed to buy the F-35, the latest-generation fighter jet for the USA and its NATO allies, in 2019 after Ankara additionally bought Russia’s S-400 missile protection system.
US officers over two administrations say the Russian air protection system threatens to compromise the F-35’s expertise.
Turkish officers demand the F-35s be delivered or Turkey be reimbursed.
What’s Subsequent: Erdogan mentioned Thursday he plans to debate the problem with President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Rome on Oct. 30.
“I imagine we’ll make progress,” the Turkish president mentioned.
Late final month, Turkey’s authorities formally requested to buy 40 extra F-16 fighter jets from the United States and 80 modernization kits for its existing F-16 fleet, Reuters first reported, following a report within the Greek press.
Erdogan mentioned earlier this week the US administration proposed the sale to compensate for Turkey’s $1.4 billion loss, however State Division spokesperson Ned Value subsequently challenged that assertion, saying there was but no settlement on financing for Ankara’s {hardware} request.
With out the F-35s, Ankara wants to take care of its getting older F-16 fleet till it could actually mass produce indigenous fighter jets or discover one other different.
Earlier this week, the pinnacle of Turkey’s state-run protection acquisition oversight physique, Ismail Demir, recommended his authorities might purchase Russian Su-35s and Su-57 jets if the F-16 deal falls via.
Erdogan additionally lately boasted earlier this month about chatting with Russian President Vladimir Putin about significantly expanding defense ties with Moscow — a transfer that will be a significant affront to NATO.
The F-35 dispute has performed a central position in dragging US-Turkey relations to its lowest level in a long time, whilst Washington wants Ankara as a NATO ally amid renewed tensions with Russia and Iran lately.
Know Extra: Try Amberin Zaman’s in-depth interview with Alan Makovsky, one of many foremost consultants on US-Turkey relations, on the way forward for the NATO partnership.
