2 yıl önce

Türkiye: Negotiations with US on F-16 deal 'going well'

Türkiye has been seeking a deal with the US for the sale of F-16s and upgrade kits for earlier models of the fighter jet.

AP

The approximately $6-billion deal would include the sale of 40 newly built F-16V fighter jets and modernisation kits for 80 F-16 C/D models that the Turkish Air Forces has in its inventory.

Türkiye’s top diplomat has said that negotiations are "going well" with the US on a F-16 fighter jet deal.

"The F-16 negotiations are going well. The [US] administration's approach on negotiations is very positive," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a televised interview on Wednesday.

The approximately $6 billion deal would include the sale of 40 newly built F-16V fighter jets and modernisation kits for 80 F-16 C/D models that the Turkish Air Forces has in its inventory.

Cavusoglu said that a "strategic mechanism" had been established and that the first meeting at the ministerial level was already held in New York.

The mechanism aims to help address existing issues between the two countries, including Washington's support for the YPG/PKK terrorist groups, sanctions, and the extradition of the ringleader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup attempt.

Cavusoglu also stressed that the "negative atmosphere" seen at the US Congress in recent years has dissipated.

Bilateral cooperation

"This (bilateral) cooperation also has strategic importance for NATO," he said, as both countries have been alliance members for many decades.

"They are also aware of the role Türkiye has taken on recently, and let's hope this awareness is not a temporary one," Cavusoglu added, likely referring to Türkiye's key role in brokering a recent deal on Ukrainian grain shipments.

Türkiye paid $1.4 billion for the F-35s, but Washington took Ankara out of the programme in 2019 because Türkiye purchased the Russian S-400 defence system after Washington rebuffed its efforts to acquire US Patriot missiles.

Since then, Türkiye has sought to broker a deal with the US for the sale of F-16s and upgrade kits for earlier models of the fighter jet.

The US claimed the Russian system was a security risk, but Türkiye maintained that the S-400 would pose no threat to NATO or its armaments because it would not be integrated into the alliance's systems.

Ankara also repeatedly proposed setting up a commission to resolve the matter.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies