Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden have issued diametrically opposed statements on telephone conversation between them on Thursday.
According to Erdogan’s office, the Turkish president urged Biden to lift “unfair” US sanctions on his country’s defense industry and insisted that the United States approve Turkey’s request to buy 40 new F-16 fighter jets and to modernize its existing fleet.
Turkey is now relying on obsolete F-16s after moving away from the next-generation F-35 fighter program from the United States in 2019 due to the purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system.
A statement issued by Biden’s office following a telephone conversation with Erdogan did not mention US sanctions on Turkey or the F-16 issue. The talks focused on the response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House said. “In addition, the presidents discussed opportunities to strengthen bilateral ties,” he added.
In a statement issued on the sidelines of the talks, Biden stressed the need for action against Russia:
“I spoke with @RTERdogan today to coordinate our response to Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine. We discussed the importance of ongoing international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for its aggression and to support the Ukrainian people in dealing with this crisis.”
I spoke today with @RTErdogan to coordinate our responses to Russia unprovoked attack on Ukraine. We discussed the importance of continued international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for its aggression and to support the Ukrainian people as they faced this crisis.
– President Biden (@POTUS) March 10, 2022
NATO member Turkey has publicly supported Ukraine in its war with Russia by supplying armed drones to Kyiv for use in the conflict and restricting access to the Black Sea by Russian warships. However, Ankara has avoided joining its Western allies in imposing sanctions on Russia as it seeks to limit the damage to its already weakening economy and to maintain relations with Moscow.
A first interpretation, according to some, may be the fact that Turkey may link the lifting of US sanctions with the imposition of small, perhaps painless sanctions on some Russians or Russian entities, which in essence will keep Russia happy. and they will give the excuse that Turkey needs to say that it is joining NATO.
Petros Kranias
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Source: Capital
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