At White House, Erdogan to seek deal with Trump on F-35s

US President Donald Trump is hosting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan astatine the White House connected Thursday, where the Turkish person hopes to leverage the countries’ warmest bilateral ties successful years to person Washington to driblet US sanctions and let it to acquisition F-35 combatant jets.

Erdogan’s archetypal visit to the White House successful astir six years comes astatine a clip when Ankara is keen to take vantage of a US medication anxious to marque deals successful instrumentality for big-ticket arms and trade agreements.

The medication of erstwhile President Joe Biden kept Turkey astatine arm’s magnitude partially implicit what it saw arsenic the chap NATO member’s adjacent ties with Russia. Under Trump, who views Moscow much favorably and has person idiosyncratic ties with Erdogan, Ankara is hoping for a amended relationship.

Trump and Erdogan – some seen arsenic progressively autocratic by their critics astatine location – had a checkered narration during the Republican president’s archetypal term. But since his instrumentality to the White House, their interests person aligned connected Syria – source of the biggest bilateral strain successful the past – where the US and Turkey present some strongly backmost the cardinal government.

They stay sharply astatine likelihood implicit US state Israel’s attacks connected Gaza, which Ankara calls a genocide – a imaginable wild paper successful what are different expected to beryllium affable and transactional talks successful the Oval Office.

In his UN code connected Tuesday, Erdogan, who has led Turkey for 22 years, said that “anyone who fails to speak retired and take a stand against the barbarity successful Gaza shares work for this atrocity”.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio aboriginal told Fox News that world leaders, including Erdogan, could “say what they want to accidental but astatine the extremity of the day, when they want something done, they want to travel to the White House”.

US SANCTIONS BLOCK F-35 SALES

The temper displacement has renewed Turkish hopes that Trump and Erdogan, who person exchanged communal praise, tin find a way astir US sanctions imposed by Trump himself successful 2020 implicit Turkey’s acquisition of Russian S-400 rocket defenses.

That, successful turn, could pave the way for Ankara to bargain Lockheed Martin’s advanced F-35 combatant jets, for which it was some a purchaser and shaper until it was barred implicit the S-400s.

“Despite expected absorption from US Congress, a greenish airy for Turkish acquisition of F-35s is not inconceivable, provided the governmental will is there connected some sides and diplomats are allowed to hammer retired a model that addresses each the known issues,” said Timur Soylemez, a erstwhile Turkish ambassador with acquisition successful Turkey-US relations.

Trump said up of the gathering helium expected F-35 talks “to reason positively”.

Erdogan has said the defence industry, including the topic of F-35s and ongoing negotiations implicit 40 F-16 jets Ankara besides wants, would beryllium a absorption of the meeting, on with determination wars, vigor and trade. 

A US authoritative said Washington had successful caller days drafted a statement of intent – a papers used to facilitate talks – for respective income to Turkey, including the caller F-16s that would bolster its existing fleet.

Turkey asked for precocious instrumentality and modifications connected the F-16s successful their order, making the jets outgo much than a standard F-35, the authoritative said. But F-35s were omitted from the draught statement due to the fact that the US cannot legally merchantability them while Turkey has the S-400s, the idiosyncratic added.

Turkish authorities officials did not instantly remark connected the F-16 costs.

DEAL ON BOEING PLANES ALSO ON AGENDA 

Turkey, NATO’s second-largest army, wants to ramp up aerial powerfulness to antagonistic what it sees arsenic increasing threats successful the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, where it neighbours Russia and Ukraine.

In summation to the F-16s and F-35s, it besides wants to procure 40 Eurofighter Typhoons – irking determination US allies Greece and Israel.

At the meeting, Trump is expected to item a Turkish statement to bargain much than 200 Boeing Co aircraft, for which Turkish Airlines is negotiating. The US authoritative told Reuters the talks included 787 and 737 jetliners, and astir $10 cardinal successful GE craft engines. [Reuters]