Cavusoglu calls on US to maintain ‘balance’ in ties with Greece, Turkey

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusolgu on Monday reacted to media reports on the possible sale to Greece of F-35 fighter jets, produced by US defense giant Lockheed Martin, calling on Washington to maintain the balance in its relations with Athens and Ankara.

“[The US used to have] a balanced policy. An ally like the US needs to pay attention to [preserve] these balances,” Cavusoglu told a joint press conference with his Bosnia and Herzegovina counterpart in Ankara, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

According to the same report, Cavusoglu said Ankara is not interested in “who is selling weapons to which side,” before adding: “What matters to us is our strength, what we do, what steps we take for our interests. This is what matters to us.”

The Turkish minister reportedly also referred to the potential procurement of F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits from Washington, saying that Ankara has reached “an agreement with the US administration in every sense. We expect it to pass [in Congress] uneventfully.”

If the Biden administration stands firm on the issue, Cavusoglu was quoted as saying, “there will be no problem.”

“We do not want to buy products from any country conditionally,” he said, according to the report.