Can Turkey-Germany summit produce breakthrough on Eurofighter sale?
Eurofighters for Turkey are expected to top Olaf Scholz's meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. A senior Turkish defense industry official told Al-Monitor that local production of some of the parts might be an option.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosts Saturday German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Istanbul, where the two leaders are expected broaden defense and commercial cooperation, and overcome their differences on a range of topics.
From the Turkish perspective, Ankara's acquisition of Eurofighter jets and Western support for Syrian Kurdish groups that Turkey considers terrorist organizations will lead the summit.
The potential Eurofighters sale is currently the most salient issue between Ankara and Berlin. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday confirmed that Germany had given a green light for the start of technical talks between the Turkish government and the four-nation consortium of Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom along with Germany that produces the combat aircraft. While three of the partners support the sale, Germany has remained hesitant.
Experts who spoke to Al-Monitor noted that as with Turkey's nascent deal with the United States for the sale of 40 new-generation F-16s and roughly 80 modernization kits for its existing combat fleet, several political and technical issues would also delay Eurofighters' joining the Turkish Air Force.
