https://arab.news/jzvne
- Ankara said Britain and Spain were in talks last year about buying Eurofighter Typhoons, though Germany objected to the idea
ISTANBUL: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that Britain drove a project to supply Turkiye with Eurofighter jets possibly and was in the early stages.
“It will continue to develop, but is now being driven forward from there (Britain),” he said when asked about potential movement on the issue at a press conference in Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The British government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subject.
FASTFACT
The Western Sahara is a former colony that has been a lightning rod in regional politics since the 1970s.
Ankara said Britain and Spain were in talks last year about buying Eurofighter Typhoons, though Germany objected to the idea. Since then, it has complained of a lack of progress on the issue, and Erdogan has alluded to Berlin’s reluctance.
“We wish to leave behind some of the difficulties experienced in the past in the supply of defense industry products and develop our cooperation,” Erdogan told reporters.
On Thursday, a Turkish Defense Ministry official said Turkiye had been conducting technical work to accelerate its planned purchase of the jets.
The Eurofighter Typhoon jets are built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy, and Spain, represented by companies Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.