The appeal by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for the lifting of US CAATSA sanctions in a recent TV interview highlighted the difficulties of US-Turkish relations and the implicit but clear admission that Washington and Ankara are looking for a formula that would under certain conditions allow even the return of Turkey to the F-35 program.
Sinan Ciddi joins Thanos Davelis to look into the developing story around a reported proposal that could potentially see the US gain control of Turkey’s S-400s in return for F-35s, and make the case that Ankara should prove it is ready to embrace NATO before Washington begins to open the door to any arms deals like the F-35s.
Defense Minister Nikos Dendias emphasized the right of all Dodecanese islands to establish an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles.
Turkish Defense Ministry sources have neither confirmed nor denied a recent report in Kathimerini that said Turkey and the US are planning to stockpile Russian-made S-400s, with the aim of lifting CAATSA sanctions and returning Turkey to the F-35 procurement program.
Turkey was thrown out of the F-35 combat aircraft program because of its actions which embraced Russia and were antithetical to NATO.
Lena Argiri, the Washington, DC correspondent for ERT – the Greek Public Broadcasting Company – and Kathimerini, joins Thanos Davelis to look into her latest scoop from Washington, DC on a US proposal that could see a resolution to the Russian S-400 missile issue with Turkey and possibly open the door for Ankara to rejoin the F-35 program.
Turkey’s effort to get CAATSA sanctions lifted to pave the way for its acquisition of F-35 fighter jets from the United States was confirmed by its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his speech in New York and by his foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, in an interview last week to the state-run Anadolu Agency in which he referred to a quest for a “creative formula” on the issue.
The Greek F-35 program is on track, with the signing of the contract between Lockheed Martin and the US government for the start of production expected to take place next, J.R. McDonald, Lockheed Martin’s Vice President for F-35 Business Development, told Kathimerini.
The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) has launched a petition to block any attempt to include Turkey again in the F-35 program, from which it has been excluded.
The frigate Psara returned to the Salamis Naval Base on Sunday after completing its mission in the European operation Eunavor Aspida in the Red Sea, where it protected merchant ships from Houthi attacks.
During the summer, the United States submitted a detailed proposal for the resolution of the issue regarding Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 air-defense system.
Former Defense Minister Giannos Papantoniou and his two co-defendants were unanimously acquitted by the Court of Appeals on Friday due to lack of evidence in a money laundering case linked to alleged bribery.
Defense Minister Nikos Dendias on Thursday announced Greece’s intention to start negotiations for the acquisition of a fourth Belharra-type frigate to forge ahead with a wide-reaching modernization program for a series of ships of the Hellenic Navy.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a social media post that the procurement of a fourth Belharra frigate, needed to strengthen the country’s defenses, will not disrupt Greece’s fiscal consistency.
Greece will start negotiations to buy a fourth Belharra frigate from France to strengthen its navy as it recovers from a decade-long debt crisis, the country’s defence minister said on Thursday.
Nikos Dendias visited the Naval Group shipyards in Lorient, France on Thursday for the launching ceremony of the second FDI Belharra frigate, F-602 Nearchos. He also inspected the first frigate, F-601 Kimon, which is nearly complete and expected to begin trials soon.
