ANKARA – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spokesman said that the process of approving the sale of F -16 fighter aircraft to Turkey’s NATO member is going well and has been completed within two months, while it is considered an attempt by Washington to win Ankara in the existing conflict with Russia due to repercussions the conflict in Ukraine
Turkey submitted a request to the United States in October 2021 to purchase 40 F-16 fighters made by Lockheed Martin and nearly 80 update equipment for its current warplanes to update its air force after the failure of the purchase of F-35 aircraft. ” President Joe Biden’s government is working hard on this problem.
In response to a query about whether the United States will sell F-16s to Turkey, Calin was quoted by the station as stating, “It is not possible to make definite expectations, but it seems that there is a heavy probability to complete the operation in the next month or two months.”
“When this occurs, the F-16 problem will be handled, and both the updating and buying a new F-16 will be issues that are resolved,” he continued.
After the Americans emphasised their views against Turkey due to the purchase of the Russian S-400 system, Erdogan claimed in September that he had received “good” responses from two American Senate members regarding their probable support for the sale when they met in New York.
According to a prior commitment made by US President Joe Biden to bolster the ageing Turkish air fleet, a technical delegation from Turkey visited Washington in August of last year to conclude the discussion of the American F-16 fighters.
Since Ankara acquired defensive missile systems built in Russia, which resulted in the implementation of US sanctions and Turkey’s exclusion from the F-35 combat aircraft programme, there has been a general lack of concern for Turkey in the US Congress over the past few years.
Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it appears that Washington’s stances have started to shift. The Biden administration is often unwilling to engage in disagreements with Ankara, which has taken on the role of a mediator between the West and Russia in the conflict.
Ankara served as a mediator in a number of cases, the most recent of which involved the extension of the grain supply arrangement with Ukraine after Russia placed a temporary halt to it.
In September, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan waved that his country might resort to countries like Russia if the United States does not fulfill its pledge to hand over Ankara F -16 fighters, while they understood it was a blackmail..
Turkey is on the verge of acquiring F-16 jets.
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