Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the F-16 fighter jets are not
the only option for Ankara if the U.S. Congress put obstacles
before the sales of the aircraft, Trend reports citing Daily
News.
“We expect common sense to prevail, for the United States to
evaluate the issue as a whole and decide, and act accordingly,”
daily Milliyet quoted Akar as saying on Feb. 5.
“Our friends from the parliament are also holding talks in
Congress. Our motto is ‘Strong Türkiye, strong [Turkish Armed
Forces] TAF, strong NATO, strong Alliance.’ We also say that the
F-16 is not the only option,” he added.
Upon the Turkish government’s request in late 2021, Ankara and
Washington negotiated the sale of 40 new F-16 warfighters and 79
modernization kits after Türkiye was excluded from the joint F-35
fifth-generation fighter jet program due to its deployment of
Russian S-400 air defense systems. The process is awaiting the
approval of Congress, which will also decide on the sale of F-35
fighter jets to Greece.
The minister criticized Sweden for not meeting the “necessities”
of a tripartite memorandum for its NATO bid and also for allowing
Quran-burning protests in the country.
“As they do not comply with the memorandum, heinous attacks are
carried out against Türkiye, the president of Türkiye, a NATO
member for 71 years, and the Holy Quran, the symbol of the faith of
billions of people. What kind of logic is this? What kind of law is
this?” he asked.
These acts get on the nerves of Türkiye, he said and added,
“This is what Europe has done to us: They are trying to kick us
under the table.”
Elaborating on the new dialogue process with Syria, Akar said
Ankara, Moscow and Damascus will convene a new meeting of
delegations from defense ministries and intelligence organizations
of the three countries in February.
Elaborating on the Turkish military’s presence in northern
Syria, Akar said, “About a third of Syria’s territory is under the
control of terrorists. We tell them, ‘We are dealing with these
terrorists, you should deal with them too.’ Let’s say we withdraw
from Syria, who will stop the terrorists, who will prevent the
migration there? We cannot leave our survival to the
possibilities.”
Criticizing the objections to Türkiye’s new dialogue with Syria,
the minister indirectly referred to the U.S. and said Washington is
in touch with the YPG, while it is critical of contact between
Ankara and Damascus.
“When we get in touch with Syria, some stand up and ask, how can
you talk.’ On the other hand, you are meeting with an extension of
a structure that you recognize as a terrorist organization. You are
with the terrorists who killed 40.000 of our citizens. How does
such a thing happen?” he asked.
“You come from 10,000 km away and say, ‘This is our survival
problem, we want to destroy terrorism in Afghanistan at its
source.’ How can we remain ignorant of terrorist activities and
terrorists nearby?” he said, referring to the U.S.-led operation in
Afghanistan in previous years.
The grain corridor process is running smoothly, the minister
said, stressing that they were able to reach a balance among
parties in carrying out the export of Ukrainian grain through the
Black Sea.
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