Türkiye hopes to complete F-16 deal with US without conditions

Türkiye expects an early completion of consideration of its request to purchase F-16s from the United States without any conditions or restrictions, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a meeting of the Planning and Budget Commission of the Turkish Parliament, Report informs.

“We have repeatedly stated that the United States must take concrete steps to correct its misbehavior on issues that directly affect our national security. In this regard, we at all levels have expressed the hope that consideration of our request for the purchase and modernization of the F-16 will be completed as soon as possible without any delays or conditions and restrictions,” Fidan noted.

At the same time, the Turkish Foreign Minister noted that Ankara continues to cooperate with the United States on many regional and global issues of mutual interest.

The US House of Representatives in July 2022 adopted a defense budget amendment that prohibits the US administration from selling new F-16 aircraft and components for their modernization to Türkiye as long as Türkiye violates Greek airspace. Previously, Türkiye was excluded from the F-35 fifth-generation fighter-bomber production program due to the purchase of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems by Ankara.