Istanbul The US is accommodating Turkey with its desire to modernize the air force. The Reuters news agency learned from congress circles that the chairmen of the US congressional committees had given the green light for a renewal of the existing Turkish F-16 jets. There is currently no information about the price.
President Joe Biden will approve the modernization of the Turkish F-16, it is said. On the other hand, Congress is still rejecting Turkey’s request to also buy new F-16 fighter jets worth around $20 billion. A spokeswoman for the US State Department declined to comment, as did officials in Congress. There has also been no official statement from the government in Ankara.
Washington’s approval comes just four weeks before Turkey’s important elections. According to polls, President Erdogan must fear for a majority, both in parliament and for his own post as head of state. The sudden OK from Washington therefore seems like election campaign help – and fuels speculation that another term in office for Erdogan could come in handy for the Americans.
Turkey requested the purchase of 40 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing fighter jets in October 2021. US President Biden was always against it. He was never considered a fan of the Turkish president, on the contrary. In an interview during his election campaign in August 2020, Biden regretted that Erdogan was able to avert an attempted coup by the Turkish military in July 2016. To date, the US President has not invited his Turkish counterpart to the White House.
The two countries are NATO allies, Turkey has the second largest alliance army after the USA and is involved in many missions. Nevertheless, the Democrats in Washington and the AKP in Ankara are worlds apart. The US supports groups in Syria that are considered terrorist organizations in Turkey.
According to polls, the president must fear for a majority.
(Photo: via REUTERS)
The fact that Turkey had not participated in the western sanctions against Russia for a long time caused further resentment. When Ankara also opposed Finland and Sweden joining NATO, the political blockade seemed insurmountable.
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After the discord on both sides of the Atlantic, a diplomatic thaw has set in over the past few months. Biden gave condolences after a terrorist attack in Istanbul in November and after a devastating series of earthquakes in southeast Turkey and northwest Syria in early February that killed more than 50,000 people.
During a visit to Washington in January, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called for convincing Congress to drop his objection. The US Congress then declared that it could not approve the deal until Ankara had ratified Sweden and Finland’s NATO memberships. It was the first time that Congress explicitly and directly linked the F-16 sale to Turkey to the two Scandinavian countries’ bids for NATO membership.
Turkey’s ok for Finland’s accession to the NATO military alliance is now followed by approval for modernization, while Sweden still has hope. Shortly before the elections, the Turkish head of state can sell this as an important foreign policy success.
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This circumstance fuels the suspicion that the US administration could well be interested in another term for Erdogan. The modernization kits are unlikely to be enough to propel Erdogan into a new term of office despite his weak poll numbers. Nevertheless: Even if Biden and Erdogan will probably never become best friends, Erdogan’s victory might be fine with him.
Erdogan is the most important US partner in the Middle East
Erdogan has not participated in sanctions against Russia for a long time. At the same time, the Turkish head of state is the only one in the NATO alliance who can still negotiate on an equal footing with Kremlin chief Putin. Putin, in turn, uses Erdogan to send messages to NATO through him.
In addition, despite all the friction, the Turkish governing party AKP is closer to NATO as part of the opposition alliance that Erdogan wants to replace. The current defense minister, Hulusi Akar, is a former general and has spent most of his military career in NATO organizations, including in Italy and the United States.
In addition, the United States is currently experiencing a massive loss of power in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Iran recently formed an alliance – mediated by China, Washington was left out. The Syrian ruler Assad, whom the United States would like to depose, is also finding allies in the region again. With his offensive foreign policy, Erdogan has opened doors to the entire region and could serve the US administration in maintaining Western influence in the Middle East.
According to insiders, the rapprochement between Turkey and Greece also played a role in the decision by the US Congress. This, too, would be proof that Erdogan could be the better option for the Americans. The Turkish opposition has leaked that they don’t want to give an inch in the dispute over sea borders with the neighboring country and a NATO member.
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