Analysts say Turkey wants to secure new engines for its flagship KAAN stealth fighter project, as Ankara seeks to join the exclusive club of nations producing fifth-generation combat aircraft. [Getty]
US President Donald Trump says he will decide on a potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, as he begins a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Ankara.
“It’s a decision we’re going to make,” Trump says, adding that the leaders will also discuss trade and the military.
“It’s certainly something we would consider,” he adds of the sale, noting that “we have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday told Fox News: “I don’t think (Turkey) should be given F-35s or the engines for their fighter jets, because that’ll upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority and also by, I think, by America’s posture in the Middle East.”
Turkey on Tuesday rejected as “disinformation” Israel’s claim that the sale to Ankara of US F-35 fighter jets and components would upset the regional power balance.
Ahead of a NATO summit in Turkey, Ankara’s foreign ministry slammed the claim made Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The baseless allegations recently circulated by Israeli officials in a coordinated manner and with calculated timing are part of a disinformation campaign,” the ministry said.
“Netanyahu and his partners in crime deliberately distort any criticism directed at them and seek to divert attention through a systematic propaganda effort.”
Last month, Trump promised to make Erdogan “very happy” when asked about Turkey’s efforts to secure F-110 jet engines and regain access to the F-35 programme.
Analysts say Turkey wants to secure new engines for its flagship KAAN stealth fighter project, as Ankara seeks to join the exclusive club of nations producing fifth-generation combat aircraft, which notably includes the United States, China and Russia.
In 2019, Washington expelled Turkey from the F-35 programme two years after Ankara acquired a Russian S-400 missile defence system.
Ankara’s foreign ministry said Israel’s pushback could not “conceal the Netanyahu government’s genocide in Gaza, its policies of occupation and annexation, and its destabilising actions in the region”.
The ministry added that Turkey wanted to see peace, stability and prosperity throughout the region and that “with this understanding, we once again call on Israel to pursue a constructive and peaceful policy.”
