There is a new conflict between NATO countries
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakas Mitsotaki “no longer exists” and accused the prime minister of a neighboring country of trying to block the sale of US F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, reports EURACTIV.
“We agreed not to involve third parties in the litigation. But last week he traveled to the United States, spoke to Congress and urged them not to sell us the F-16,” said the Turkish president at a press conference after the government meeting.
“It just came to our knowledge at that time. I will never meet him. We will continue on our way with respected politicians,” Erdogan said.
In October last year, Turkey appealed to the United States to sell 40 F-16 fighters made by Lockheed Martin and upgrade about 80 sets of existing aircraft.
NATO members Turkey and Greece are at odds on many issues – maritime borders, the size of the continental shelf, airspace, ethnically divided Cyprus.
During his visit to America, Mitsotaki met with US President Joe Biden and senior administration officials. He said Greece will start the procedures for acquiring F-35 fighters by 2030.
In 2019, Washington removed Ankara from its overall F-35 fighter production program when Turkey acquired Russia’s S-400 missile defense systems.
Source: The Delfi
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