As of: February 20, 2024, 5:40 p.m
By: Erkan Pehlivan
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Press
Split
On Tuesday, two US senators met Foreign Minister Fidan in Turkey.
There was also an appointment with Erdogan.
There is a lot to discuss.
Ankara – There is still a lot of need for discussion between Turkey and the USA.
On Tuesday (February 20), US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Murphy arrived in Turkey for talks.
Both are Democrats and are members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
First there was a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, then a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Little was initially known about the content of the discussions.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry only published a photo with the two US envoys on X and wrote that Shaheen and Murphy had been received in Ankara.
The Turkish presidential office is similar: There you can see a photo of Erdogan, his foreign minister and Shaheen together.
Senator Murphy was not present at the meeting.
US senators are keeping quiet about the background to the Turkey visit
“We met with Minister Fidan to discuss regional security challenges and how we can continue to build on the positive momentum of the U.S.-Turkey partnership,” Murphy shared on X.
He also did not provide any further details for the time being.
Shaheen had simply stated on her website that she would be traveling to Turkey with a delegation.
It's about strengthening NATO.
Turkey wants to buy modern F-16 fighter jets from the USA.
© IMAGO/EvrenKalinbacak
Türkiye: Relations with Washington strained
Relations between the USA and Turkey are strained.
After Turkey acquired the Russian S-400 air defense system, it dropped out of the F-35 program.
The USA also refused to sell F-16 aircraft to Turkey and to modernize existing ones.
Erdogan, in turn, for a long time refrained from giving his consent for Sweden to join NATO.
After agreeing to join NATO, Turkey still has to get a promise from the USA for F-16 jets and modernization packages for older models.
But the deal comes with conditions.
According to a report in the Greek newspaper
Katherimini,
Turkey is no longer allowed to fly over Greek islands with the new aircraft.
In recent years, both countries have repeatedly accused each other of violating their sovereign territories.
Erdogan under pressure: US Senator wants to stop F-16 deal with Türkiye
But there is resistance to the deal with Turkey in the USA.
The Greek newspaper also reports that Republican Senator Rand Paul is calling for a resolution to stop the sale of the F-16 aircraft.
That would be a horror scenario for Turkey.
While Greece gets stealth aircraft like the F-35, Turkey doesn't even get F-16s, which are not comparable anyway.
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Chancellor Olaf Scholz also rejected the sale of Eurofighters during Erdogan's visit in November.
Erdogan was outraged about this in the joint press conference with Scholz.
“Is Germany the only country that produces combat aircraft”?
Erdogan said his country could also obtain fighter jets from other countries.
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