As of: January 31, 2024, 4:40 p.m
By: Erkan Pehlivan
Comments
Press
Split
Turkey is now getting F-16 fighter jets from the USA.
The country could also receive F-35s.
But Washington sets conditions for this.
Ankara - Turkey has received a commitment from the USA to sell F-16 fighter jets after ratifying Sweden's accession to NATO.
Ankara has now also received an offer to be reinstated in the F-35 program.
However, Turkey must meet certain conditions for this to happen.
“When the S-400 issue is resolved, the sanctions will be lifted and we will talk about Turkey's return to the F-35 program,” said US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland in an interview with CNN
Türk
.
The S-400 is a mobile air defense system that can shoot down aircraft, missiles and other objects in the sky.
The units, which usually consist of several missiles, a radar and a command post, can be transported by truck.
The S-400 can operate with short-, medium- and long-range missiles.
With the purchase of this Russian air defense system, Turkey was suspended from the F-35 program.
Türkiye is also getting modernization kits for existing F-16s
In addition to the F-16 aircraft, Turkey is to receive so-called modernization kits for existing older F-16 fighter aircraft.
It is still unclear when the F-16 jets will be delivered.
The modernizations should begin immediately, Nuland said.
“I don’t know when the new jets will be ready, but the US’s top priority is to deliver them to Turkey as quickly as possible,” said the top diplomat in the video.
According to
CNN Türk,
delivery of the F-16 could take up to four years because there is a waiting list and the machines still have to be built.
Turkey receives modern F-16 aircraft from the USA.
© dpa/Ingo Wagner
Washington does not want tensions between Türkiye and Greece
The delivery of the F-16 has also been subject to conditions, writes the Greek newspaper
Katherimini
.
“The paper learned from reliable diplomatic sources that Turkey's acquisition of F-16 fighter jets from the USA is subject to the condition that they may only be used for NATO alliance purposes and not for overflights over Greek islands.
This emerges from a confidential letter from the US State Department to the four relevant congressional committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which will not be made public,” writes the newspaper.
The background is the tensions in recent years.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly threatened Greece with invasion and missile attacks in recent years.
Both states accuse each other of violating enemy airspace over the Aegean.
Türkiye needs to make changes
The Turkey expert Dr.
Salim Cevik from the “Science and Politics Foundation” (SWP) in Berlin is not surprised.
“It was foreseeable that the USA would impose conditions on Türkiye.
In the past, Turkish and Greek fighter jets had violated enemy airspace,” said Cevik in an interview with
fr.de
from
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
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“The US also does not want Turkey to acquire the Russian S-400 system.
Such a system would be of little use to Turkey because it could not be integrated into the NATO system.
For Turkey, the missiles are practically only symbolic.” Washington is showing Turkey that the bridges to the West have not been burned, according to the Turkey expert.
“To achieve this, however, Turkey must make changes.
However, it remains to be seen whether Turkey is ready for this.”
(erpe)