SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Turkish defence delegation to visit US for jet talks
Ankara, Aug 9 (AFP) Aug 09, 2022
A Turkish delegation will visit Washington next week to follow up on US President Joe Biden's pledge to deliver F16 fighter jets for Turkey's ageing air force, Ankara said Tuesday.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said the team would arrive in Washington on Monday on the invitation of unnamed US officials.

But he stressed that Ankara remained firmly opposed to conditions on the sale imposed by leading members of Congress who worry about Turkey's tense relations with Greece.

"We cannot accept these conditions. Our wish is that the Senate removes them," Akar said in televised remarks.

NATO member Turkey was kicked out of the F35 Joint Strike Fighter programme over its acquisition of an advanced Russian missile defence system in 2019.

Biden's election was followed by a year-long chill in relations between Washington and Ankara linked to Turkey's human rights record and strident foreign policy.

But the Biden administration has been more supportive of Turkey since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

Biden said he wanted Congress to approve the F16 sale after meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a June NATO summit in Madrid.

"Biden's approach was very positive in Madrid."

Some leading US senators have said they will only approve the sale if Turkey ends its territorial dispute with historic rival Greece.

Turkey is due to send its newest drilling ship into disputed east Mediterranean waters in search for natural gas later Tuesday.

The last such mission near the divided island of Cyprus in 2020 sparked an international crisis that saw Turkish and Greek warships collide while shadowing each other in the open sea.

A full-out war was averted through swift intervention from NATO leaders and EU power broker Germany.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Trump-Musk showdown threatens US space plans
Japanese company aborts Moon mission after assumed crash-landing
In row with Trump, Musk says will end critical US spaceship program

24/7 Energy News Coverage
US seeks deals for Alaska energy as Asia representatives visit
Czechs sign nuclear deal with S.Korea firm KHNP: PM
US-China at trade impasse as Trump's steel tariff hike strains ties

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Ukraine war 'existential', Russia says, launching revenge strikes
'Aces up the sleeve': Ukraine drone attacks in Russia shake up conflict
Trump says Iran 'slowwalking' as Khamenei opposes nuclear proposal

24/7 News Coverage
China lead mine plan weighs heavily on Myanmar tribe
Pledge to protect oceans falling billions short; as EU eyes 'leadership' role
Aid finally trickles in for Nigeria flood victims



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.