Türkiye's diplomatic efforts prevail amid Israel's merciless attacks targeting Gaza. Seeking to rally the international community to stop Israel, Türkiye once again turned to Israel's main supporter, the United States. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan asked his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken in a call on Sunday for Washington to use its influence over Israel to halt Israeli attacks on Gaza and the West Bank, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Türkiye supports a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict and has harshly criticized Israel, calling for a full cease-fire and for Israeli leaders to be tried in international courts for war crimes. Ankara also continues to strongly criticize Western support for Tel Aviv.
Washington, Israel's closest ally, has repeatedly said it supports Israel's right to defend itself but has stepped up calls on Israel to act with restraint in its campaign, which has killed nearly 19,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, and laid much of the Gaza Strip to waste.
Fidan told Blinken that the situation in Gaza and the West Bank was worsening due to the Israeli attacks, the source said. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday that the United States had a historic responsibility to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza.
"Fidan emphasized the need for Israel to be made to sit at the (negotiating) table after a full cease-fire is achieved to start a process aimed at realizing a fair and lasting peace based on a two-state solution," the source added.
The source said Fidan and Blinken also discussed bilateral ties, Sweden's NATO membership bid, which the Turkish Parliament is yet to ratify, and Ankara's request to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the United States.
"During the call, in which the importance of acting in line with the spirit of the alliance was emphasized, Sweden's NATO bid, the F-16 issue and cooperation on the defense industry were among issues over which views were exchanged," the source said, adding the call was held at Blinken's request.
Türkiye asked in October 2021 to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighters and 79 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. The Biden administration backs the $20 billion sale, but there have been objections in the U.S. Congress over NATO member Türkiye, linking it to the Swedish bid.
After long-time non-alignment, Sweden applied to join NATO to bolster its security in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but has been left waiting due to resistance from alliance states Türkiye and Hungary. Türkiye urged Stockholm to take action against terrorist groups threatening Türkiye, namely the PKK and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), and was critical of a string of Quran burnings in Sweden and other Nordic countries that, among other reasons, aimed to provoke Turks and the Muslim world.
Türkiye on Saturday said it expects prompt and tangible steps from the U.S. on the F-16 fighter jet deal while also urging Germany to show a stance aligning with the NATO spirit regarding its request to buy Eurofighter Typhoon warplanes. Ankara has been frustrated by the prolonged process of its request to acquire F-16 jets from the U.S. it seeks to refresh its air force. This prompted it to begin discussing buying Eurofighters, produced by a consortium involving Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom. Türkiye announced last month it was in talks with Britain and Spain to buy 40 Eurofighter jets, though Germany has objected to the idea.
National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said “technical meetings” regarding the procurement of F-16s have been completed, stressing that Türkiye expects “positive and solid steps” from the U.S. “We expect the process to start with positive and concrete steps as soon as possible,” Güler told journalists in the Turkish capital of Ankara at a year-end evaluation meeting.
President Erdoğan said on Friday that Biden was approaching the issue positively but that Washington’s main issue was the ratification of Sweden’s NATO bid. Erdoğan earlier this month signaled that the Turkish Parliament will only act on Sweden if the U.S. Congress approves Türkiye’s request.
Türkiye’s request aims to replace the aging F-16 fleet in the inventory of the Air Forces Command, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s. The project was launched in 2016. Türkiye sought to purchase Lockheed Martin’s more advanced F-35 fighter jets, but the U.S. removed it from the multinational program to buy and help build the warplane in 2019 after it acquired S-400 air missile defense systems from Russia.
Pointing out that the most important issue in the procurement process is sanctions, Güler said they always express that “allies should understand Türkiye’s global and regional function well and therefore immediately give up such restriction practices.”
“We emphasize that a strong Türkiye and a strong Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) mean a strong NATO and a strong alliance, and a strong fight against terrorism,” he noted. He said Türkiye sees Eurofighter jets as the best alternative.
He also said there are plans to purchase 40 Eurofighters, 20 in the first phase and 20 later, the highest version.
