German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that a project to possibly supply Turkey with Eurofighter jets was an effort being driven by Britain and was in the early stages.
The Eurofighter Typhoon jets are built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain © Mena Today
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that a project to possibly supply Turkey with Eurofighter jets was an effort being driven by Britain and was in the early stages.
"It is something that 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 Tayyip Erdogan.
The British government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subject.
Ankara said last year it was in talks with Britain and Spain to buy Eurofighter Typhoons, though Germany objected to the idea. Since then, it has complained of a lack of progress on the issue and Erdogan alluded to Berlin's reluctance until now.
"We wish to leave behind some of the difficulties experienced in the past in the supply of defence industry products and develop our cooperation," Erdogan told reporters.
On Thursday a Turkish defence ministry official said Turkey had been conducting technical work aimed at accelerating 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.
Reporting by Tom Sims, Daren Butler in Istanbul, M. Mujiva in London
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun arrived in Ankara on Thursday for an official visit during which he is due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss economic and security cooperation.
Turkish police detained the opposition mayor of Ankara's Etimesgut district and 51 other suspects on Thursday in a graft investigation, the Interior Ministry said.
A drone hit a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Wednesday, citing an initial assessment of the incident.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.