US proposed F-16 sales to Turkey in return for F-35 project

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkey was in talks with the United States to buy F-16 fighters after it was kicked off the F-35 program for purchasing a Russian missile defense system.

Speaking to reporters before departing for a trip to West Africa, Erdogan said Turkey wants a return for its investment in the F-35 programme and that talks on the issue are ongoing.

"There is the payment of $1.4 billion we have made for the F-35s and the US had such a proposal in return for these payments," Erdogan said, according to Reuters.

"And regarding this, we said let's take whatever steps are needed to be taken to meet the defence needs of our country," he said, adding that the new F-16 jets would help develop its fleet.

Ankara had ordered more than 100 F-35 jets, made by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), but the US removed Turkey from the programme in 2019 after it acquired Russian S-400 missile defence systems.

The decades-old partnership between the NATO allies has gone through unprecedented tumult in the past five years over disagreements on Syria policy, Ankara's closer ties with Moscow, its naval ambitions in the Eastern Mediterranean, US charges against a state-owned Turkish bank and erosion of rights and freedoms in Turkey.

Ankara's purchase of the S-400s has also triggered US sanctions. In December 2020, Washington blacklisted Turkey's Defence Industry Directorate, its chief, Ismail Demir, and three other employees.

Since then the US has repeatedly warned Turkey against buying further Russian weaponry. But Erdogan has indicated Ankara still intends to buy a second batch of S-400s from Russia, a move that could deepen the rift with Washington.

The request for the jets will likely have a difficult time getting approval from the US Congress, where sentiment towards Turkey has soured deeply over recent years.

There is bipartisan support in US Congress to push the Biden administration to put further pressure on Ankara, primarily over its purchase of Russian weapons and its human rights track record.

Ankara has said it hopes for better ties under US President Joe Biden.

KI/PR