G20 Summit: Erdogan vows to confront anti-Islam barbaric acts

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has firmly vowed that Türkiye won't remain quiet on barbaric acts of Islamophobia and xenophobia.

"The burning of copies of Holy Quran is an undeniable hate crime and cannot be justified as an exercise of freedom of speech," said Erdogan during a press conference after the end of the 18th G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi on Sunday.

He emphasised that it is incumbent upon nations allowing such actions to reevaluate and revise their existing laws promptly.

Talks about F16

On the other hand, the president said that he talked about F16 fighter jets during a brief conversation with his US counterpart Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit.

"We had a quick word with Biden. We also discussed the F16 issue," Erdogan said at a the press conference.

Ankara requested F16 fighter jets and modernisation kits in October 2021. The $6-billion deal would include the sale of 40 jets as well as modernization kits for 79 warplanes already in the Turkish Air Force’s inventory. The State Department has informally notified Congress of the potential sale.

However, key lawmakers at Capitol Hill have vowed to nix the deal over several demands, including making the purchase contingent on Ankara's approval of Sweden's NATO membership bid.

Ankara maintains that the jets would strengthen not only Türkiye but also NATO.

'Sweden must fulfill its duties'

Sweden's possible accession to NATO is at the discretion of the Turkish parliament, the president reiterated.

"I'm not at a point where I can decide on my own. It must be passed by the parliament. Sweden must fulfill its duties," he said.

Türkiye stresses Sweden's NATO bid and Türkiye's F16 purchase from the US are not linked to each other.

The G20 leaders, in the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, gathered in the capital New Delhi for a two-day summit under the theme of "One Earth, One Family, One Future."