Space Industry and Business News
AEROSPACE
Erdogan links Sweden's NATO bid to F-16 sale
Erdogan links Sweden's NATO bid to F-16 sale
by AFP Staff Writers
Istanbul (AFP) Dec 8, 2023

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday made Turkey's ratification of Sweden's stalled NATO membership application conditional on the US Congress "simultaneously" approving Ankara's request for F-16 fighter jets.

Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment and sought the nuclear protection afforded by the US-led defence organisation in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

Their bids won fast-track approval from all NATO members except Turkey and Hungary.

The two ultimately relented and accepted Finland into the bloc this year.

Erdogan in July lifted his objections to Sweden's membership after Stockholm took steps aimed at cracking down on Kurdish groups that Ankara views as terrorists.

But the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee last month delayed forwarding the application for a vote by the full chamber -- a decision that drew a stern rebuke from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Erdogan gave a second strong signal Friday that parliament will only act on Sweden if the US Congress approves Turkey's requested purchase of dozens of F-16 fighter jets and spare parts.

"You say you will take steps on the F-16 issue after passing it through the Congress, but I also have a parliament," Erdogan told reporters, referring to the United States.

"If we are two allied countries in NATO, then you can do your part simultaneously, in solidarity, and our parliament will do its part. That's the thing."

- Ageing air force -

Turkey's ageing air force has suffered from Ankara's expulsion from the US-led F-35 joint strike fighter programme in 2019.

Washington took the step in retaliation for Erdogan's decision to acquire an advanced Russian missile defence system that NATO viewed as an operational security threat.

US President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly promised to move forward with the $20-billion F-16 sale.

But its approval has met resistance from congressional leaders who voice concern about Turkey's human rights record and past standoffs with fellow NATO member Greece.

The issue has been complicated by Turkey's anger at Washington for its support for Israel in the Gaza war.

Erdogan said Friday that he had no intention of meeting with US President Joe Biden any time soon.

"A meeting with President Biden is not on our agenda. Their stance on Gaza is known to all of you," Erdogan said.

"If he calls us, we will meet with him and talk about whatever issues we need to talk about."

Sweden's foreign minister said last week that his Turkish counterpart had promised him that Ankara would approve Stockholm's membership "within weeks".

But the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee has still not scheduled a hearing on the bid.

Related Links
Aerospace News at SpaceMart.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
AEROSPACE
"Remains" found at US Osprey crash site off Japan: US military
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 4, 2023
The US military said Monday divers searching for seven missing crew members had found "remains" in waters off southern Japan where a US Osprey aircraft crashed last week. "During a combined U.S.-Japanese search and rescue dive in the vicinity of Yakushima, Japan... remains were discovered along with wreckage from the CV-22 mishap," the military said in a statement. Efforts are underway to recover the remains but "the identities have yet to be determined at this time", the statement said. " ... read more

AEROSPACE
CityU develops universal metasurface antenna, advancing 6G communications

Momentus Partners with CalgaryToSpace for 2025 Satellite Launch

US, UK, Australia Collaborate on Deep Space Radar Initiative for Enhanced Space Domain Awareness

LeoLabs Partners with Aalyria to enhance global communication network security

AEROSPACE
HawkEye 360's Pathfinder constellation complete five years of Advanced RF Detection

New antenna offers unprecedented flexibility for military applications

WVU Team Tackles Radio Interference in Astronomy with NSF Funding

Quantum Space launches Sentry to pioneer deep space communications network

AEROSPACE
AEROSPACE
Airbus presents first flight model structure for Galileo Second Generation

Galileo Gen2 satellite production commences at Airbus facility

Galileo Second Generation satellite aces first hardware tests

PASSport project testing

AEROSPACE
US military grounds fleet of Osprey after crash off Japan

Chinese balloon detected around Taiwan: defence ministry

Erdogan links Sweden's NATO bid to F-16 sale

Pentagon grounds all Osprey aircraft after fatal crash

AEROSPACE
DARPA-Funded Research Leads to Quantum Computing Breakthrough

World's first logical quantum processor

Self-Assembled Bowtie Resonators Achieve Atomic-Scale Miniaturization

Photonic chip that 'fits together like Lego' opens door to semiconductor industry

AEROSPACE
Exolaunch USA and Capella Space Partner for Launch of Advanced SAR Satellite, Acadia-5"

China's commercial CERES-1 Y9 rocket launches new satellites

New project investigating how aerosols could affect climate change in near future

AWE Project Achieves Milestone with First Light Images from Space

AEROSPACE
UK anti-terror police probe London vehicle pollution camera 'bombing'

'Stay home': Pollution chokes Iran's capital

Toxic air divides Delhi between poverty and privilege

COP28 host UAE choking from its own 'toxic' air pollution: HRW

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.