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18-10-2021
ANKARA/ WASHINGTON: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the United States proposed selling F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in return for its investment in the F-35 program, from which Ankara was removed after purchasing missile defence systems from Russia.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday before departing for a trip to Africa, Erdogan said Turkey wants a return for its investment in the F-35 program and that talks on the issue are ongoing.
“There is the payment of $1.4bn we have made for the F-35s and the US had such a proposal in return for these payments,” Erdogan said.
“And regarding this, we said let’s take whatever steps are needed to be taken to meet the defence needs of our country,” he said.
“We are working to further develop our fleet from the modernization of the F-16s in our possession to new additional F-16 purchases,” the Turkish leader said.
Ankara had ordered more than 100 F-35 jets, made by Lockheed Martin Corp, but the US removed Turkey from the program in 2019 after it acquired Russian S-400 missile defence systems.
The decades-old partnership between the NATO allies has gone through unprecedented tumult in the past five years over disagreements on Syria policy, Ankara’s closer ties with Moscow, its naval ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean, US charges against a state-owned Turkish bank, and Turkey’s human rights record.
Ankara’s purchase of the S-400s has also triggered US sanctions. In December 2020, Washington blacklisted Turkey’s Defence Industry Directorate, its chief, Ismail Demir, and three other employees.
Erdogan has indicated Ankara still intends to buy a second batch of S-400s from Russia, a move that could deepen the rift with Washington.
The US has warned Turkey of further risks to bilateral ties if it bought more weapons from Russia.
Reuters reported earlier this month that Turkey made a request to the United States to buy 40 
Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.
The request for the jets could have a difficult time getting approval from the US Congress, where sentiment towards Turkey has soured deeply over recent years.
There is bipartisan support in the US Congress to push the Biden administration to put further pressure on Ankara, primarily over its purchase of Russian weapons and its human rights track record.
Ankara has said it hopes for better ties under US President Joe Biden. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
