US defense companies on 'losing end' if F-16 sale to Türkiye blocked

ISTANBUL

US defense companies will be on the losing end if Washington fails to supply Ankara with F-16 fighter jets, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Wednesday.

Asked about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks that "there would be a price" to pay if the US fails to supply the F-16s, Kalin said Türkiye is not without options as far as air defense or other military defense industry products are concerned.

Ankara and Washington negotiated the sale of 40 new F-16 jets and 79 modernization kits, and the process is awaiting the approval of the US Congress.

“We have been developing our own national capabilities. Our drones have really shown to the world how capable they are in worst moments, in our defense. So we will simply develop our own national capabilities and the US defense companies will be on the losing end in all of this," Kalin told CNN International.

Speaking on the possibility that the US Congress approval could be conditional on Türkiye’s approval of Sweden's NATO membership, Kalin said: “If the American Congress makes NATO accession process a precondition for the F-16 program, they can wait for a long time, we are not tying the two together."

Türkiye has its own airpower, military and would like to cooperate with the US on military defense industry and other related issues, Kalin said, adding: “But if they choose to go that path it's their choice, we will not budge to that.”

On Sweden's bid to join NATO, Kalin said Ankara will support Swedish entry into the 30-member military alliance once it fulfills its promises.

“They deliver on the terms that we agreed together in the last NATO Summit back in June," he said, referring to a trilateral memorandum if which Stockholm and Helsinki agreed to address Ankara's concerns on terrorism.

"And those terms are very clear. I know the Swedish government is fully committed to implementing them. They're telling us that they need some time.”

Kalin added: “The main issue is to root out all terrorist elements aiming at Turkey's national security coming out of Sweden, primarily the PKK and its various front organizations and other related groups."

The presidential spokesman voiced support for NATO's enlargement process, saying: “We have supported, in fact, all other members that join NATO over the last decade or so, without any problems, because we didn't have any problems with those countries."

He termed burning of the holy Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, and allowing the act "under the umbrella of freedom of expression," as "completely unacceptable."

"It was completely against, I believe, Sweden's own interests," he said.

Kalin also condemned recent Israeli raids in the Jenin refugee camp in occupied West Bank. “It resulted in the death of dozens of Palestinians. And then, in that cycle of violence, a number of people were killed Israelis in a synagogue, we have to get out of this cycle of violence. This is really terrible. This is no good for peace or stability for anything,” he said.