Erdogan: If Washington does not meet our need for F-16 fighters, then there are other options

Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that many countries are willing to meet his country’s needs, if the US does not meet Ankara’s need for F-16 fighters.

In response to journalists’ questions, he said, “If the United States does not meet our need for F-16 fighters, many countries are willing to do so,” according to Anadolu news agency.

Erdogan added that his country can meet its needs in this regard, like its purchase of the Russian S-400 systems, when Washington refused to provide it with Patriot air-defence systems.

After the election of US President Joe Biden, relations between Washington and Ankara experienced a period of chilly relations for a year due to Turkiye’s record in the field of human rights and its foreign policy.

READ: Turkish-American relations face a new test

However, the Biden administration has shown greater support for Turkiye since the start of the Russia-Ukrainian war in February.

The US President said that he wants Congress to approve the sale of F-16s, after his meeting with the Turkish President on the side-lines of the NATO summit in June in Madrid.

“I said back in December, as you’ll recall, we should sell them the F-16 jets and modernise those jets as well,” said Biden at the end of the NATO summit in Madrid, at the time, “but I need congressional approval to be able to do that,” he added.