Turkey eyes Eurofighter deal as UK’s Starmer visits

Ankara: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Ankara Monday to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks focused on Turkey’s purchase of Eurofighter jets.

Starmer landed at an air force base near Ankara, accompanied by UK Defence Minister John Healey and Air Chief Marshall Harv Smyth, the head of Britain’s air force, who were welcomed by their Turkish counterparts, Turkey’s defence ministry said.

Visiting dignitaries normally fly into the Turkish capital’s Esenboga airport.

Turkey wants to modernise its air force and is hoping to finalise the purchase of 40 European-made fighter aircraft, which are jointly produced by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Turkish official told AFP discussions were ongoing but Britain would hand over a number of jets on Monday without saying how many.

Analysts said it would likely be two.

Erdogan and Starmer were to meet and then hold a joint press conference in the evening, officials said.

“Turkey and the Eurofighter is quite the saga,” Aaron Stein, president of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told AFP, saying Ankara had turned down an offer to join the European consortium, focusing instead on the US fighter jet programme.

“Ankara was invited to join the consortium or become an equal member a few times but they chose the F-35,” he said.

After Washington removed Ankara from its F-35 fighter programme in 2019 over its purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defence system, Turkey turned its attention to Europe.

Germany initially blocked the Eurofighter sale over Turkey’s stance on the Gaza war, but lifted its opposition in July, clearing the way for the sale to go ahead. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is to meet Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday.

Qatari leader due in Turkey

Last week, Erdogan held talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, with Turkey floating plans to acquire some of Doha’s Eurofighters.

Doha ordered 24 Eurofighters in 2017 with the last two due to be delivered this year. It moved to acquire 12 more late last year, observers said.

Any such move would likely be part of the deal with London who would have to grant its approval, analysts said.

The Qatari leader is in Ankara on Tuesday for talks to clarify outstanding issues, the Turkish official said.

The jets Britain was to sign over to Turkey on Monday were likely to be those that had been destined for Qatar, Stein said.

Instead of being sent to Doha, “they’ll simply be shipped to Turkey,” he explained.

Gaza’s future is also likely to feature in talks between Erdogan and Starmer, with Turkey keen to join an international stabilisation force - an idea opposed by Israel.