ANKARA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- A Turkish defense ministry delegation is visiting the United States for talks on the supply of new F-16 fighter jets and modernization of some of its F-16 warplanes, Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday, noting that Ankara would seek other options if Washington fails to provide warplanes.
Speaking at the parliament budget discussions, Akar said Turkey made the official request on Sept. 30 to acquire more F-16 jets and for modernization of its current F-16 fleet with the money paid to the United States for the F-35 fighter jet program.
"We think that the U.S. will have a positive approach. But we follow the developments as the process must go through congressional approval. Should the U.S. attitude be negative, then Turkey will have to assess other options for its security in an environment full of threats," he said.
Ankara and Washington have been in talks for the "reimbursement" payments for the F-35s, the minister said noting that two countries have agreed to hold another meeting in early 2022 on the issue of financial aspect.
Turkey's procurement of the Russian S-400 missile defense systems prompted the U.S. administration to suspend Ankara's participation in the F-35 joint program in 2019.
Tensions between the United States and Turkey have escalated ever since over the deal, as Washington claimed that the S-400 systems would be incompatible with the NATO system and risk to expose its confidential military information to Russia. The United States imposed sanctions on Turkey over the S-400s, targeting the Turkish defense procurement agency and its officials.
Ankara says it paid 1.4 billion U.S. dollars for F-35 jets and asks for reimbursement with F-16 jets.
But the U.S. congress could block any such exports to Turkey due to its purchase of the S-400 air defense system. Enditem
