Turkish Foreign Minister Says Noticing US' Constructive Attitude On F-16 Sales

Turkish Foreign Minister Says Noticing US' Constructive Attitude on F-16 Sales

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday that Ankara is noticing constructive attitude of the US administration over the request for the procurement of F-16 fighter jets

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd April, 2022) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday that Ankara is noticing constructive attitude of the US administration over the request for the procurement of F-16 fighter jets.

"The US administration definitely has constructive attitude to the issue of F-16," Cavusoglu was cited as saying by Sabah.

The United States had previously notified Turkey about its exclusion from the program on the supply of the latest F-35 fighter jets due to Ankara's procurement of Russian S-400 air defense systems.

The US had canceled a joint memorandum on F-35s with Turkey and signed it with remaining customers of fighter jets: the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada, and Norway.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later announced that the US offered Ankara to procure the fourth generation of fighter jets F-16 instead of the fifth generation F-35s. The US Congress has yet to approve the deal; however, the US State Department is lobbying for the deal convincing congressmen that it will "serve Washington's interests."