Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expects the United States to respond in kind and sell Ankara F-16 fighter jets after the Turkish parliament approved Sweden’s NATO membership bid.
Speaking to reporters upon his return from a summit of Persian Gulf countries in Qatar, Erdogan said: "As for the F-16 issue, we said to the other party: ‘The U.S. has its Congress, and we have our own congress, that is, parliament, that will make a final decision [on approving Sweden’s bid]. As president, I submitted it [the ratification protocol] to parliament and you [the U.S.] thanked me."
"I did my duty and now I expect something from you in return. Let’s take these steps together, simultaneously," Erdogan said.
The Turkish leader noted that Turkey was in talks on purchasing the Eurofighter European fighter jet in case the U.S. refused to sell F-16 aircraft to Ankara. Erdogan added that Turkey also had other options in terms of next generation fighter jets.
