President Erdoğan’s message to the US regarding F-16: We now expect a clear response
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while returning from his visit to Nakhchivan, responded to questions from journalists aboard his plane. President Erdoğan, who issued a warning to Armenia regarding Karabakh, stated, “We expect Armenia to show a strong will now instead of prolonging the process.”
The President also discussed the F-16 negotiations with the US, stating that they now expect a clear response from the United States. President Erdoğan also commented on the temporary stepping down of Senator Bob Menendez, one of the figures opposing the sale of F-16s to Turkey, who has been accused of corruption and bribery, saying, “Menendez’s stepping down is advantageous for us.”
“One of our major concerns regarding the F-16s was the activities of US Senator Bob Menendez against our country. Therefore, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, is closely following this process. In fact, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the United States three to four days ago. These talks are still ongoing. However, it would be beneficial to turn this situation into an opportunity and have another meeting with him. This way, we may have the opportunity to expedite the process related to the F-16s. The issue of F-16s is not solely dependent on Menendez; it is just one aspect.
“We are expecting a clear response from the US regarding this, and we hope to receive the positive outcome we expect without further delay. This issue also demonstrates how important it is for us to be a self-sufficient country in terms of defense industry. Previously, we faced a similar situation with UAVs and armed drones. At that time, there was the Predator issue. Even though we needed it, we couldn’t obtain it from our allies. What did we do? We started producing our own UAVs. We didn’t stop there; we developed armed drones, tactical UAVs, Kızılelma, Hürkuş, Atak… Now we need F-16s, but at the same time, we are working on producing our next-generation fighter aircraft, KAAN.”
