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Turkish-American Relations

Turkish-American Relations
Can F-16 sales overcome Türkiye-US disputes?

| Opinion
Following Türkiye’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership in the Turkish Parliament, the U.S. State Department notified …
  • Opinion

    Following Türkiye’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership in the Turkish Parliament, the U.S. State Department notified Congress of a $23 billion (TL 698.52 billion) sale of fighter jets to Türkiye and an $8.6 billion sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Greece, another ally in the NATO. The sale to Türkiye includes 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s and equipment to modernize the existing fleet of 79 F-16s. Greece will receive 40 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters and related equipment.
  • News

    The Turkish national defense minister affirmed Wednesday the ongoing commitment of Türkiye to revitalize the Black Sea Grain deal.
  • Opinion

    The Turkish national defense minister said Wednesday that Türkiye was monitoring the process of requesting the purchase of F-16 fighter jets from the United States, noting they were expecting to see concrete steps regarding the process "as soon as possible." Addressing negotiations with the U.S., Yaşar Güler urged the correction of attitudes and approaches that directly affect Türkiye's national security.

Bu Konuda Daha Fazla

  • President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan started a new debate ahead of this week’s NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Commenting on Sweden’s bid to join the Alliance, he argued that the relevant countries should “clear Türkiye’s path to European Union (EU) membership.” That statement aligned perfectly well with the readout of Erdoğan’s most recent phone call with U.S. President Joe Biden.

  • The meetings held by the Turkish delegation during their visit to Washington earlier this week once again showed how necessary constant dialogue is due to the busy agenda of Turkish-American relations. Apart from bilateral issues, Türkiye and the United States need to step up their efforts in order to work together on regional and global issues. It is no secret that there are issues where the two NATO allies do not agree or, worse yet, pursue opposing policies. However, many challenges such as hot war, food crisis, energy, great power rivalry and climate change make it all the more necessary to focus on shared interests.

  • In the aftermath of the twin quakes in Türkiye, we see that some states are trying to help beyond their capacities, while others are a little below par

  • Although Türkiye has had significant problems with NATO, the U.S., and the Western alliance in general in recent years, receiving serious humanitarian aid support during the 6 February earthquakes can be seen as a strong first step. However, the continuation of this and providing comprehensive and permanent support to Türkiye's rebuilding process, which may take at least a few years, will also be critical for the internal solidarity of the Western alliance. If Türkiye feels left alone in this matter in the medium and long term, it will be difficult to solve the priority problems in Turkish-American and Türkiye-Western relations. This will be a handicap in ensuring regional stability.

  • Türkiye’s rebuilding process, which may take at least a few years, will also be critical for the internal solidarity of the Western alliance.