Washington Hints at Possibility of Selling F-16s to Ankara

US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting at the NATO summit, on July 11, 2023. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting at the NATO summit, on July 11, 2023. (Reuters)
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Washington Hints at Possibility of Selling F-16s to Ankara

US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting at the NATO summit, on July 11, 2023. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting at the NATO summit, on July 11, 2023. (Reuters)

The US has hinted at the possibility of selling modern F-16s to Türkiye and modernization equipment for its old fighters of the same type.

Türkiye will be able to modernize its military capabilities and strengthen interoperability with NATO through the acquisition of F-16 fighter jets.

Speaking to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryde noted that Ankara's strengthening of operational compatibility with NATO will allow allied forces to gain access to key areas to support operations in conditions of stability, as well as emergency situations.

Washington is awaiting the Turkish Parliament’s approval of Sweden’s accession protocol to NATO before implementing the F-16 deal.

A senior White House official said Washington hopes that Parliament will soon approve Sweden’s request, adding that this remains a top priority to the US administration.

The parliament was Tuesday set to resume debate on approving the bid.

Committee chairman Fuat Oktay said parliament’s approval hinges on the US approval of Ankara’s request to purchase 40 F-16s and 79 modernization equipment for aircraft operating in the Turkish Air Force.

"Positive developments from the United States regarding the F-16 issue and Canada keeping its promises will accelerate our parliament's positive view (on Sweden's membership bid)," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said recently.

"All of these are linked," he added.

Canada agreed to reopen talks with its NATO ally Türkiye on lifting export controls on drone parts after Erdogan signaled in July that Sweden would get the green light from Ankara.

Erdogan said that he discussed the issue of Sweden's NATO accession with US President Joe Biden in a call last week.

"In the call, Mr. Biden said: 'You pass this [Sweden's NATO bid] from the parliament and I will get it [the F-16 sale] passed from the Congress'," Erdogan said.

A phone call between Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Dec. 17 highlighted the "importance of ratifying Sweden’s NATO accession as soon as possible," according to a readout from the White House.



Bodies of Four Migrants Found as Boat Sinks off Greek Island of Lesbos

A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
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Bodies of Four Migrants Found as Boat Sinks off Greek Island of Lesbos

A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture

The bodies of four migrants - one boy, one girl and two women - have been recovered from a sinking boat off the Greek island of Lesbos while another 23 migrants were rescued, Greece's coastguard said on Thursday.

The boat was detected by a patrolling coastguard vessel at about 2 a.m. (2300 GMT). A search and rescue operation was still ongoing, a coastguard official said. It was not immediately clear how many people may have been on the boat, Reuters reported.

Greece, in the southeast corner of the European Union, has long been a favored gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2015 nearly 1 million people landed on its islands.

Last year, about 54,000 migrants reached Greece, the second largest number in southern Europe behind Italy. The vast majority of them arrived by sea, according to data from the UN refugee agency UNHCR.