ANKARA, Turkey (Washington Insider Magazine) — United States President Joe Biden stated a “50-50” chance of approving Turkey’s request to buy American produced F-16 planes by the U.S. Congress and Senate; however, Biden did vow to do “his best” to guarantee the deal succeeds, according to Turkey’s president.
Conversing about his arrival from Rome for the G20 nations summit, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey further told reporters on his plane that the gathering with Biden took place “in a very positive atmosphere,” notwithstanding the often touchy connection among the two NATO nations.
Turkey had previously been booted out of a U.S. program to purchase F-35 fighter jets while Turkish defense leaders were sanctioned following the country’s support of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems. The United States maintains that the Russian weapons endanger the F-35 and vigorously oppose their use within the NATO alliance.
Turkey demanded to redeem the $1.4 billion payment before being expelled from the F-35 program. President Erdogan has said earlier that the U.S. suggested selling them F-16 fighter jets as a peace offering.
“As everyone knows, we made a payment of $1.4 billion. But, that said, we settled the acquisition of F-16s. There has not been any negative opinion from [Biden] on this concern,” Erdogan stated. His remarks were published in the Yeni Safak newspaper and other pro-government media.
The Turkish president continued to quote Biden by saying: “As we are aware, the circumstance is fifty-fifty, but I will try my best.”
President Erdogan announced the two further discussed collaboration in Syria, Afghanistan, the eastern Mediterranean, and Libya, where stresses between NATO allies Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey have increased over struggling energy demands. Discussions also centered on boosted trade and economic collaboration, Erdogan announced.
Turkey disputes that the Russian weapon system feigns a security hazard, asserting that the S-400s be utilized alone without blending in NATO systems. Notwithstanding the initial investment controversy, the Turkish president has additionally stated his nation could buy a second Russian missile system.
The United States and Turkey likewise strongly disagree about Syrian Kurdish fighters, as the group is a crucial Washington ally in the fight against ISIS. Turkey considers the group as “terrorists” connected to condemned Kurdish militants battling within Turkey and requests that Washington halts its assistance to the group.
“Our nations are allies under NATO; we don’t believe our NATO partners should be attempting such a situation,” President Erdogan stated. However, he reemphasized that his nation was ready to fulfill another invasion into Syria to oust Kurdish fighters if the demand arose.
President Erdogan was supposed to travel to Glasgow to visit the COP26 climate summit, yet instead returned to his home in Turkey. He later mentioned to journalists that a conflict with the U.K. regarding “protocol standards” was the motive for his choice to skip the summit.
So, the deal between Turkey and the United States regarding the sale of the F-16s is in limbo. We will update you further when information becomes available.
