Former Chief of General Staff Intelligence Lieutenant General İsmail Hakkı Pekin explains why Turkey fears the balance of power will tilt in Greece's favour and why Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is desperate to acquire the US-made F-16 fighter jets.
Transcript:
CNN Türk Journalist: Let's say we don't buy F-16s and can't modernise them. What will happen to us?
Pekin: To pressure us, they will give the F-35s to Greece. When you look at the balance of power, it will be very bad. Then the head of the Air force will turn around and tell the government or the General Staff that 'this is the state of the aircraft and in case of battle with Greece or another country, we cannot stand with these aircraft.'"
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Why is Erdogan desperate for the US to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey?
Turkey's Former Chief of General Staff Intelligence Lieutenant General İsmail Hakkı Pekin explains why - Turkey fears the balance of power will tilt in Greece's favour. Objectively speaking, it already… pic.twitter.com/pd7luGttAn
— Paul Antonopoulos 🇬🇷🇨🇾 (@oulosP) September 29, 2023
Context Reuters:
On Thursday, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s new chairman said he would look at Turkey’s $20 billion Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jet deal and that more issues than Sweden’s ascension to NATO would affect the decision to lift his predecessor’s longstanding hold.
“I need to talk to the administration on a lot of these issues, because it’s beyond just one issue involved, and I need to understand that,” Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat, told reporters, one day after he took over leadership of the influential panel.
Cardin said he had discussed Sweden’s NATO accession with Turkish officials at a NATO ambassador’s meeting on Wednesday.
“They claim that will be done in the first part of next month,” he said. “If that is in fact true, then at least we have the NATO issue resolved, but there are other issues in addition to just NATO accession that need to be part of our discussions as we move forward.”
The previous chairman, Senator Bob Menendez, had blocked the sale for months, over Turkey’s objections to Sweden joining NATO but also over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s human rights record and overflights of the airspace of neighbouring Greece.
Senate rules forced Menendez to step down as leader of the committee after prosecutors announced he and his wife, Nadine Menendez, faced felony bribery charges. Leaders of the US Senate and House foreign affairs panels review every major foreign arms sale. They regularly ask questions or raise concerns over human rights or diplomatic issues that can delay or stop such deals.
Ankara has held out on the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership for months, accusing Stockholm of doing too little against people Turkey sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Erdoğan said in July he would forward the ratification to parliament when it reopens in October, frustrating some members of Congress who said he could have called it back into session to move Sweden’s NATO membership.
After Menendez’s indictment was unsealed, Erdoğan said Turkey should turn the senator’s legal troubles into an opportunity to purchase the fighter jets. “Menendez being out of the picture is an advantage,” Erdoğan was quoted as telling reporters by Turkish media.
Sweden and Finland applied last year to enter NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine. While Finnish membership was sealed in April, Sweden’s bid remains held up by Turkey and Hungary.
Turkey has said Ankara and Budapest are working in close coordination on the issue.
The top Republican on the Senate panel, Senator Jim Risch, has put a hold on arms sales to Hungary over the issue.
