ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday discussed progress on the procurement of Eurofighter aircraft over a phone call.

"The call addressed Türkiye–United Kingdom bilateral relations, as well as regional and global issues, and reviewed the progress made regarding the procurement of Eurofighter jets," said Türkiye's Communications Directorate on X.

The developments in this area were noted to contribute positively to the cooperation between Türkiye and the UK, it added.

Türkiye, which maintains NATO's second-largest military force, plans to acquire 40 Eurofighter jets -- aircraft jointly manufactured by the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. While the UK has been eager to proceed with the sale and all manufacturing partners except Germany have supported it, the deal has remained stalled for months. However, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signaled last week that progress is being made toward a potential sale of Eurofighter jets to NATO ally Türkiye.​​​​​​​

During the call, the Turkish president voiced optimism that the ongoing negotiations to update the Free Trade Agreement between Türkiye and the UK would yield results within this year.

Stressing that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire and that deaths from starvation cannot be prevented, Erdogan emphasized that humanitarian aid must be allowed into Gaza without delay, the statement read.