Turkey, U.S. agree to continue F-16 talks

A meeting over Turkey's demand to acquire F-16 fighter jets between Turkish and US defence officials was conducted in a "positive and constructive atmosphere" in Washington, said Turkey's Defense Ministry on Wednesday.

The delegations exchanged views on bilateral and regional defence and security issues, and the two sides agreed to hold their next meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara, it said in a statement.

The Turkish delegation was visiting Washington for discussions on Turkey's proposal to acquire more F-16 jets and for modernization of its current F-16 fleet with the money paid to the US for the F-35 fighter jet program, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar spoke at the parliament budget meeting on Tuesday.

Turkey's procurement of the Russian S-400 missile defence systems prompted the US administration to suspend Ankara's participation in the F-35 joint program in 2019.

Tensions between the US 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 defence procurement agency and its officials.

Ankara says it paid 1.4 billion US dollars for F-35 jets and asks for reimbursement with F-16 jets. (ANI/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )

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