https://sputnikglobe.com/20230306/ankara-likely-to-drop-bid-for-us-f-16s-over-price-better-options-turkish-presidency-official-says-1108078054.html
Ankara Likely to Drop Bid for US F-16s Over Price, Better Options, Turkish Presidency Official Says
Ankara Likely to Drop Bid for US F-16s Over Price, Better Options, Turkish Presidency Official Says
Sputnik International
MOSCOW (Sputnik), Ksenia Shakalova - Ankara is likely to reverse its decision to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the United States due to the price as well as... 06.03.2023, Sputnik International
2023-03-06T04:26+0000
2023-03-06T04:26+0000
2023-03-06T04:46+0000
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In late February, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said that the US cannot sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye without approval from Congress, which means that its concerns regarding Greece's stance and Sweden and Finland's NATO bids need to be addressed. "I believe that after the earthquakes Turkiye will give up asking for F-16 because it is $20 billion cost package," Erhan said. He believes the Turkish government made a mistake by asking for F-16s, which Congress is still refusing to give under "some pretext" and which are outdated and not competitive against other jets. "Turkiye should immediately make a decision to change its decision from F-16 to some other. For instance F-35 was on the table. Turkiye was expecting from the program [to get F-35]. Now we have other options like the Chinese jet, which was sold to Pakistan, Russian jets and also Eurofighter jet," Erhan stated. On January 18, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara was hoping to overcome the difficulties on F-16s with Washington, noting that the purchase was in line with the joint strategic interests of both countries. In April 2021, the US excluded Turkiye from the F-35 program after Ankara had purchased Russia's S-400 air defense systems. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said later that year that Turkiye had received a US offer to buy F-16 jets instead, one generation behind the F-35s. The US Congress has been debating whether to include restrictions on the sale of jets in its annual defense spending bill for fiscal 2023, while the US State Department has been trying to convince lawmakers that the deal was aligned with Washington's interests.
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Ankara Likely to Drop Bid for US F-16s Over Price, Better Options, Turkish Presidency Official Says
04:26 GMT 06.03.2023 (Updated: 04:46 GMT 06.03.2023) MOSCOW (Sputnik), Ksenia Shakalova - Ankara is likely to reverse its decision to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the United States due to the price as well as other more modern options being available, Cagri Erhan, a member of the Turkish Presidency’s Security and Foreign Policies Council, told Sputnik in an interview.
In late February, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said that the US cannot sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye without approval from Congress, which means that its concerns regarding Greece's stance and Sweden and Finland's NATO bids need to be addressed.
"I believe that after the earthquakes Turkiye will give up asking for F-16 because it is $20 billion cost package," Erhan said.
He believes the Turkish government made a mistake by asking for F-16s, which Congress is still refusing to give under "some pretext" and which are outdated and not competitive against other jets.
"Turkiye should immediately make a decision to change its decision from F-16 to some other. For instance F-35 was on the table. Turkiye was expecting from the program [to get F-35]. Now we have other options like the Chinese jet, which was sold to Pakistan, Russian jets and also Eurofighter jet," Erhan stated.
On January 18, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara was hoping to overcome the difficulties on F-16s with Washington, noting that the purchase was in line with the joint strategic interests of both countries.
In April 2021, the US excluded Turkiye from the F-35 program after Ankara had purchased Russia's S-400 air defense systems. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said later that year that Turkiye had received a US offer to buy F-16 jets instead, one generation behind the F-35s. The US Congress has been debating whether to include restrictions on the sale of jets in its annual defense spending bill for fiscal 2023, while the US State Department has been trying to convince lawmakers that the deal was aligned with Washington's interests.
