Türkiye urges US to lift sanctions in defence industry, approve F-16 sale

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tells US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that finalising the F-16 fighter jet sale deal is beneficial for both sides and that Ankara expects support from Congress to push through the deal.

Asked about bilateral ties, Cavusoglu said the two countries should not wait for another disaster to improve ties and urged to take concrete and sincere steps to improve the Türkiye-US relations.
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Asked about bilateral ties, Cavusoglu said the two countries should not wait for another disaster to improve ties and urged to take concrete and sincere steps to improve the Türkiye-US relations.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has urged the US to lift sanctions against Ankara in the defence industry field, highlighting the need for the US to approve the sale of F-16 fighter jets.

Cavusoglu was speaking on Monday at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken following a meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.

During the meeting, Cavusoglu told reporters he had discussed a planned $20 billion deal for US F-16 warplanes with Blinken, and said that Türkiye would like the US administration to send the formal notification for the F-16s to Congress.

Cavusoglu said finalising the F-16 fighter jet sale deal is beneficial for both sides and added that Ankara expected support from Congress to push through the deal.

Meanwhile, Blinken said it is the "national interest and security interest" for the Biden administration to both upgrade existing F-16s and provide new ones to Türkiye.

Cavusoglu also said that the fight against terrorism is a priority item on the mutual agenda, and further urged to have more effective cooperation and collaboration in the field of security.

READ MORE: Blinken visits disaster-hit Türkiye, pledges $100M in aid

Fight against terrorism

Cavusoglu called on his US counterpart to fight against any kind of terrorism and terror group together.

He said Türkiye believes that cooperating with terror groups against another one is a "deadly mistake" and that the PKK/YPG terror group is not fighting the Daesh/ISIS terror group.

Citing the October 2019 deal signed between Ankara and Washington, Cavusoglu said the US must fulfil its responsibilities arising from the deal.

Ankara and Washington reached a deal in October 2019 to pause Türkiye's Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria for 120 hours to allow the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from a planned safe zone, but Türkiye said the US did not fulfil its promises.

Blinken said his country "very much recognises" Türkiye's legitimate security concerns on its southern border and that the countries will "work closely together to address" the concerns.  

"We're both very much focused on humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria, who, like the people of Türkiye, has suffered terribly from the earthquake and we're working together to maximize the support that can get to them," he added.

Their meeting comes after Blinken's visit to the quake zone on Sunday, where rescue work was winding down two weeks after the worst disaster in the country's modern history. The quakes killed more than 46,000 people in Türkiye and northwest Syria.

"The United States and Türkiye do not agree on every issue but it is a partnership that has withstood against challenges," Blinken told the news conference, adding the the US will support Türkiye "for as long as it takes".

READ MORE: US sends additional aid for Türkiye quake survivors

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