Turkey coup?

[Lyneham Lad]

More sabre-rattling in the Med. Article in The Times.

Erdogan ignores Trump’s plea for calm by ordering new military drills (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/d047d8d4-e874-11ea-8fb6-8dc16a61b81b?shareToken=cc04d2f7e5adc855c8c58234b62ebd30)

Turkey has said it will hold a new round of military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean, in defiance of a plea from President Trump to ease tensions (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mediterranean-countries-step-up-naval-exercises-as-dispute-with-turkey-deepens-wbgd9vcn6).

Mr Trump held separate phone calls with President Erdogan and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister, last night regarding the long-running dispute over maritime sovereignty that has been reignited by the discovery of undersea gas reserves.

Turkey insists that both it and the Turkish-speaking population of Cyprus should share in the spoils but they have been excluded by a series of agreements between Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt.

Mr Erdogan has responded by sending Turkish survey vessels and drill ships into the region, prompting Greece to stage a series of joint military exercises (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tensions-spiral-over-energy-reserves-in-eastern-mediterranean-lnkj7z7wt)with France, the UAE, Cyprus and Italy.

Turkey has been holding its own drills in the area, the latest of which was announced today, comprising live-fire exercises in the sea northeast of Cyprus next week. It has also extended the mission of Oruc Reis, a survey ship stationed between Cyprus and Crete, to September 1. It had been due to return to port today.

According to the US embassy in Athens, Mr Trump “expressed concern over increased tension between Nato allies” and “reaffirmed that Greece and Turkey must commit to dialogue, which is the only path to resolving their differences.”

However, neither side is showing any inclination to back down. Greece has ratified its maritime agreements with Italy and Egypt, and has extended its sea borders from six to twelve nautical miles west into the Ionian sea. Turkey has warned that any similar expansion eastwards would be a cause for war.

Hulusi Akar, the Turkish defence minister, branded Greece’s claims on the area “irrational” and vowed that Turkey would continue its drills for “as long as necessary”. He added: “We respect the territorial integrity of all our neighbours. We have not set our sights on anyone’s lands or seas. However, we want everyone to know that we will not allow an attack against us.”

[Lyneham Lad]

How soon before someone becomes trigger-happy?
In The Times.
Turkish and Greek F‑16 planes in ‘dogfight’ over Mediterranean (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/027a8a36-e91a-11ea-9b25-18353d361fa2?shareToken=27978acebe721301306489234206f669)
Turkish and Greek fighter jets have engaged in a mock dogfight over the eastern Mediterranean, the second direct confrontation between the two Nato powers this month.

Ankara sent F-16s to intercept six Greek jets as they returned from Cyprus — where they had been participating in war games — to their base in Crete.

The Greek defence ministry said that its jets, also F-16s, called for back-up at 11.30am yesterday, and then “proceeded to the immediate recognition and interception of the Turkish aircraft”.

The contact came only hours after President Trump held separate phone calls with President Erdogan and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister, urging both to “commit to dialogue”. Earlier this month a Greek frigate clipped a Turkish navy ship during war games close to Crete.

Last night Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of Nato, said that the alliance would mediate in the spiralling dispute by “developing mechanisms to prevent incidents and accidents”.

“The fact that there are so many ships, so many military capabilities in a quite limited area, that in itself is a reason for concern,” Mr Stoltenberg told Reuters.

The Greek air force had been participating in joint naval and aerial drills with Cypriot, French and Italian forces, the latest in a serious of increasingly confrontational exercises in the triangle of waters between Cyprus, Crete and the Turkish coast.

Turkey has also been holding drills in the area, and has sent its warships to accompany the Oruc Reis, a seismic survey ship, which is currently stationed midway between Cyprus and Crete, in waters that both Turkey and Greece have laid claim to.

A Turkish drill ship, Yavuz, is currently positioned to the southwest of Cyprus, in the Cypriots’ exclusive economic zone. Total and Eni, the French and Italian hydrocarbons behemoths, have been handed licences to survey and drill in the area, but suspended their operations in May due to Turkey’s increasingly belligerent presence (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eu-banditry-wont-stop-turkey-in-mediterrenean-says-erdogan-0nf9l0tck).

[Lyneham Lad]

Yet another bout of sabre-rattling - article in The Times today.

New Greek expansion in Med would be act of war, warns Turkey (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eb4981f0-ead1-11ea-8446-c5c69e8507b4?shareToken=38c74420f5d992b237266cb12a8bfee0)

Turkey has said that any attempt by Greece to expand its maritime border would be an “act of war” as it prepares for new military drills (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/erdogan-ignores-trumps-plea-for-calm-by-ordering-new-military-drills-w9ngbwjt5)north of Cyprus this week.

Leaders of Nato, of which both countries are member states, and the European Union are trying to calm tensions in the eastern Mediterranean. But Turkey has continued to issue threats over Greece’s insistence that its islands allow it to claim rights over much of the Aegean. The Turkish Ministry of Defence has posted a video on its website of what it said was a confrontation between its F-16 fighters (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/turkish-and-greek-f-16-planes-in-dogfight-over-mediterranean-xgr0zb0k5)and Greek warplanes on Thursday, with the Turkish jet apparently “locking on” to its Greek rival.
Greece said the Turkish planes had entered its airspace as its F-16s were accompanying an American B-52 bomber, one of six that were on a highly symbolic 24-hour flight over the territories of all 30 Nato members in an appeal for unity.

The two nations have been locked in a dispute for months about maritime control and drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean. Last week Greece announced that it was extending its maritime border to the west from six to twelve nautical miles.

A similar shift in the Aegean, where several Greek islands lie within 12 miles of the Turkish coast, would be regarded there as a highly hostile act. Some Turkish politicians already argue that the islands, on which tens of thousands of Greek citizens live, should more naturally fall under Ankara’s control.

“If the Greek attempt to expand its territorial waters isn’t a casus belli, then what is?” Fuat Oktay, the Turkish vice-president, told the state news agency. He added that Turkey would “protect its rights on every cubic metre in the eastern Mediterranean waters, no matter what.”

Turkey has long claimed greater rights to maritime control than those set out by existing international treaties, and in particular those asserted by the EU. It says the Greek claim of jurisdiction around its myriad Aegean islands and the international non-recognition of Turkish Northern Cyprus restricts it to what President Erdogan has called “fishing off the beach with a rod”.

It has sent an oil exploration vessel to the southwest coast of Cyprus and signed a bilateral agreement carving up notional control of the eastern Mediterranean with the government of western Libya, which it backs in a civil war against the east.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2F31c89912-eb00-11ea-b18a-4606a344c407.jpg?crop=1071%2C714%2C0%2C0&resize=1180
Footage from the Turkish jet appeared to show it targeting the Greek fighter

The dispute has sucked in countries across Europe and the Middle East. Both France and Egypt, which back the eastern side in Libya, have sprung to Greece’s defence; Egypt signing a maritime control treaty with Athens in retaliation for Turkey’s deal with Tripoli.

The United Arab Emirates, hostile to Mr Erdogan’s brand of Islamist politics, sent F-16s to train with Greece last week.

The EU held a two-day summit on the crisis, ending on Friday. Josep Borrell, its foreign affairs chief, issued a statement calling for dialogue but also threatening to impose sanctions if Ankara did not de-escalate — which further enraged Turkey. “It is insincere for the EU to call for dialogue on the one hand and make different plans on the other,” Mr Oktay said.

Mr Erdogan, accused by the Greeks of harbouring “neo-Ottoman” ambitions, referred to the period after the First World War when France, along with Britain, attempted to reduce the size of the rump Turkish state. That led to a four-year, bitter war, known to Turkey as the War of Independence, and the expulsion of nearly all Turkey’s Greek population from the mainland.

In a tub-thumping speech on Victory Day marking the war’s 98th anniversary, Mr Erdogan said: “It is absolutely not a coincidence that those who seek to exclude us from the eastern Mediterranean are the same invaders as the ones who attempted to invade our homeland a century ago.”

Shifting sands of allegiance

So many nations are manoeuvring in the eastern Mediterranean that it seems like a re-run of the 16th century, when Spaniards, Venetians, Barbary pirates and the Ottoman empire grappled for dominance.

The 21st-century version has pitted Turkish and American warships training together on one side, and on the other jets from Greece, Cyprus, Italy and France. Last week there was a new entrant: the UAE, 2,000 miles away on the shores of the Gulf, sent F-16 fighters to show its support for the Greeks.

Turkey has become a unifying force for opponents on all sides: to the west in Greece, to the south in Egypt, and to the southeast, in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which dislike its support for political Islam.

The division across the Middle East was already stark. The two Gulf states opposed the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which Turkey and Qatar backed, and support President Sisi. In Syria Turkey continues to back rebels in the northwest, while the UAE has reopened an embassy in Damascus. In Libya they back opposite sides.

None of these conflicts affects Greece much; the alliance seems to exist entirely because of their shared opposition to President Erdogan’s ambitions.

Some EU states, such as France, back Greece; others call for reconciliation with Turkey. Which side is in the right is less important now than which side is building the stronger alliance. The UAE’s decision to recognise Israel, although made for other reasons, establishes a network of anti-Turkey, anti-Islamist nations stretching from France, through Greece, to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

In the 16th century Turkey emerged the dominant power. It now looks rather surrounded.

[ORAC]

Some EU states, such as France, back Greece; others call for reconciliation with Turkey Not so much support as the EU is looking at implementing sanctions......

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-mulls-turkey-sanctions-eastern-mediterranean-tensions/

EU mulls sanctions on Turkey over Eastern Mediterranean tensions

[ORAC]

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/did-erdogan-order-his-generals-to-sink-a-greek-warship-

Did Erdogan order his generals to sink a Greek warship?

Could war finally be coming to the eastern Mediterranean? It’s not as excitable a question as it might first appear.

In an article titled, 'Erdogan’s calculated war, (https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/plus214732458/Tuerkei-Erdogans-Kalkuel-hinter-dem-Streit-mit-Griechenland.html)' the German newspaper Die Welt quoted sources from the Turkish military saying that president Recep Tayyip Erdogan had recently ordered his generals to sink a Greek warship, without inflicting casualties. They refused. Then came the suggestion to down a Greek aircraft. Again, they refused.....

So far much of all this is brinkmanship and signalling. If the report is true, Erdogan wanted to make a statement without actually killing any Greek troops. The problem comes not with intent but mistake or miscalculation. Brinkmanship can turn into disastrous calamity. Because if the report is true, it also showed a Turkish leader who is willing, if not eager, to escalate the situation in the eastern Mediterranean, to the point of militarily attacking his geopolitical opponent and energy competitor.

[golfbananajam]

Not so much support as the EU is looking at implementing sanctions......

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-mulls-turkey-sanctions-eastern-mediterranean-tensions/

EU mulls sanctions on Turkey over Eastern Mediterranean tensions


If any of said EU members who vote for sanctions against Turkey are also NATO members and war does ensue, will they side with or against their NATO ally I wonder?

[Less Hair]

Pretty bizarre escalation given that Turkey seriously needs long time financial aid, market access and economic support from the EU. Something that (not only) Greece or France might easily block.

[unmanned_droid]

If there are enough people left with opposing views, after the last attempt, this could lead to an internal replacement being sought for Erdogan sooner rather than later I would think.

[Lyneham Lad]

Article in The Times today.
US opens talks on moving airbase to punish Erdogan

(https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b2908074-00df-11eb-aba6-8a365e8762c3?shareToken=d634ba3af02c4d24f2c5049db34d7298)Mik e Pompeo will use a visit to Greece this week to explore proposals to relocate key American assets from the Incirlik airbase in Turkey to Crete, as the US looks to beef up its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean.

The visit by the secretary of state (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/us-accuses-hezbollah-of-european-bomb-plot-5z8pzq36g) is seen as a sign of Washington’s waning patience with President Erdogan of Turkey over his anti-western rhetoric and his decision last year to buy a sophisticated Russian anti-aircraft system despite fierce objections from the US and other Nato allies.

“Whether Washington can move all its assets, including nuclear arsenal, from the Incirlik, remains unclear,” Athanasios Drougos, a defence analyst based in Athens, said. “But the mere fact that Pompeo is coming here to reinforce the message that the US is actively pursuing alternative options is a stinging thorn in Erdogan’s side.”

The Incirlik base, set up at the height of the Cold War near Turkey’s frontier with Syria, has long been vital to US strategic interests in the Middle East. It has most recently been used as a launchpad for US-led airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

Ron Johnson, head of the Senate foreign relations subcommittee for Europe, suggested this month that the US was considering an alternative: Souda Bay, a US naval facility on the northwest coast of Crete, which Mr Pompeo is due to visit tomorrow.


It is Mr Pompeo’s second visit to the region in two weeks. “US interest and presence in the greater region here is hugely important,” Mr Drougos said. “But coupled with growing designs by Russia and China to assert influence in the eastern Mediterranean and Turkey’s advances in Libya and illegal drilling in the region, Pompeo’s timing is hugely important.”

He added: “The US naval base in Souda Bay now acquires a much bigger and strategically important role.”

Relations between Greece and Turkey — Nato allies but age-old foes — have deteriorated dramatically in the weeks since the Turks dispatched a research vessel to survey for gas and oil near Crete. Mr Pompeo waded into the crisis, leading Turkey to pull back its research vessel and Greece to agree to “exploratory” talks next month.

Details have yet to be announced but Greece has already insisted that it will discuss only maritime differences. Turkey wants open discussions. “The chances of a breakthrough in these talks look slim,” Mr Drougos said. “But at least the tension is down for now.”

Mr Pompeo will also visit the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki to sign bilateral technology agreements with energy companies looking to build infrastructure projects in the Balkans.

[Less Hair]

So do the US fear to loose Turkey to Russia?

[Fareastdriver]

It would be a good excuse to stem the flow of refugees.

[unmanned_droid]

Well, Turkey and Russia appear to favor opposing sides in the latest events over Nagorno-Karabakh.

[West Coast]

Well, Turkey and Russia appear to favor opposing sides in the latest events over Nagorno-Karabakh.

And in Libya as well.

[unmanned_droid]

And in Libya as well.

​​​​​Good point, very true. It appears that in the case of Libya, by using private entities, Russia seems to keep the peace with the Turkish customer (although I understand that its more complicated than that).

[Whenurhappy]

So do the US fear to loose Turkey to Russia?
Disinvesting in Turkey will only add to Erdoğan's narrative, although cosying up to Russia is likely to be a long, long way off.

[ORAC]

Could make things even more interesting as Turkey attempts to use their navy to interfere with gas exploration in the eastern Med. They can try and push Cyprus around, not sure about Israel....https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/11/05/israel-shifts-naval-doctrine-with-new-saar-6-warships/

Israel shifts naval doctrine with new Sa’ar 6 warships

JERUSALEM — Israel will receive the first of four Sa’ar 6 ships in December as part of a broad shift in naval doctrine that will see the country defend more areas at sea at a longer distance for a longer period of time, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The coming shift (https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2020/02/18/israel-rolls-out-new-wartime-plan-to-reform-armed-forces/) in maritime activity comes in the wake of Israel signing a pipeline deal with Cyprus and Greece in the summer, and joining an Eastern Mediterranean gas forum with Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. It also comes amid new investments in Israeli’s Haifa Port that could involve the United Arab Emirates; the two countries recently agreed to improve relations (https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2020/10/23/israel-drops-objection-to-us-sale-of-certain-arms-to-uae/).

A Nov. 11 ceremony will see the Israeli flag replace the German flag on the ship, which was made in Kiel, Germany, by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems. The IDF expects the Sa’ar 6 to defend offshore infrastructure — making up an area over twice the size of Israel’s land territory. The discovery of natural gas reserves and Israel’s desire to protect its exclusive economic zone were the main motivations behind the 2013 decision to order the ships.

The gas rigs and sea infrastructure, including Israel’s Karish-Tanin, Leviathan and Tamar fields, are essential and must be defended, the IDF has said.

“According to assessments, terror armies in our region possess the ability to fire high-trajectory rockets of a wide range that are able to reach the gas rigs,” the IDF explained. “We want to deter enemies from even aiming at the rigs. It [the Sa’ar 6] has an enormous radar so it can be a standalone unit. Abilities and probability of protection increases, as it is connected to Iron Dome, David’s Sling and other air defense. If it detects threats, it can transfer data to land networks to engage targets.”

Gas rigs are vulnerable strategic platforms; one missile strike could be catastrophic. In addition, the IDF said, the Navy reports Israel receives 98 percent of its imports by sea.

The commander of the Israeli Navy, Maj. Gen. Eli Sharvit, also noted that “the mission of defending Israel’s exclusive economic zone and strategic assets at sea is the primary security mission of the Israeli Navy. These assets are essential to the operational continuity of the State of Israel, and having the ability to protect them holds critical importance.”......

[ORAC]

https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/12/03/turkey-sanctions-over-s-400-made-mandatory-in-defense-bill/

Sanctioning Turkey over the S-400 would be mandatory in new defense bill

WASHINGTON ― The final version of the must-pass annual defense policy bill (https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/12/03/compromise-defense-bill-confronts-a-rising-china/)unveiled Thursday mandates the U.S. president sanction Turkey for its acquisition of the S-400 air missile defense system (https://www.defensenews.com/flashpoints/2019/07/12/despite-us-warnings-russian-s-400-systems-land-in-turkey/).

Though President Donald Trump has held off sanctioning Turkey for the purchase under the 2017 Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, the defense bill would order that five or more sanctions under CAATSA be imposed within 30 days.

The duty would fall to the Trump administration unless the bill is signed after next week. Otherwise it would fall to President-elect Joe Biden, who is due to be inaugurated Jan. 20.

NATO says the S-400s pose a threat to the military alliance and particularly endanger the technical secrets of the F-35 aircraft.

The language, sought by Democrats and the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jim Risch (https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/06/29/us-could-buy-turkeys-russia-made-s-400-under-senate-proposal/), would determinethat Turkey’s $2.5 billion purchase of the S-400 constitutes a “significant transaction” under CAATSA, which offers a range of sanctions against any nation procuring a major defense article from Russia.

The president can lift the sanctions when he can certify that Turkey no longer has an S-400 system.

The bill also includes authorization for the U.S. military to use the six F-35 aircraft that had been accepted by Turkey before the country was expelled (https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2019/08/28/esper-turkey-could-rejoin-f-35-program-if-s-400-is-out-of-the-country/) from the F-35 program over the S-400 purchase.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was among lawmakers hailed the inclusion of the language in the $740.5 billion, 4,517-page National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA.

“Incredibly proud to have helped secure inclusion of a provision in the NDAA to do what President Trump refused to do: Officially determine on behalf of the U.S. [government] that #Turkey took delivery of Russian S-400 defense systems and therefore will be sanctioned under existing law,” Menendez said in a tweet.....

[ORAC]

https://thediplomat.com/2020/12/us-sanctions-turkey-over-russian-air-defense-system-raising-questions-and-concerns/

US Sanctions Turkey Over Russian Air Defense System, Raising Questions and Concerns

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-sanctions-nato-ally-turkey-over-russian-s-400-n1251228

[ORAC]

https://www.politico.eu/article/turkey-detains-retired-admirals-for-open-letter-criticizing-canal-project/

Turkey detains retired admirals for open letter criticizing canal project

Turkey detained ten retired admirals after an open letter voicing worry that the government’s Canal Istanbul plans could undermine the 1936 Montreux Convention.

Ankara sees the letter signed by more than 100 retired navy officers (https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/bazi-emekli-amirallerin-aciklamasina-iliskin-sorusturma-kapsaminda-10-supheli-gozaltina-alindi/2198148) and posted online as reminiscent (https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-turkey-security-montreux/turkish-police-detain-10-retired-admirals-over-straits-convention-statement-anadolu-idUSKBN2BS0E4) of past coups. The most recent Turkish coup attempt (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36816045) was in 2016.

The letter voiced concern over Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s plan to create a new waterway, Istanbul Canal, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara to ease maritime flows through the Bosporus and Dardanelles.

The proposal is seen by some as challenge to the Montreux Convention, which regulates the right of passage through the straits. The international treaty allows all commercial ships to sail through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits and limits the passage of foreign warships.

“We are of the opinion to refrain from any kind of rhetoric or action that could make the Montreux Convention… a matter of controversy,” the letter says (https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210404-turkey-slams-admirals-warning-over-bosphorus-treaty).

The public prosecutor in charge of terrorism is now investigating the signatories for “agreement to commit crimes against the security of the state,” according (https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/bazi-emekli-amirallerin-aciklamasina-iliskin-sorusturma-kapsaminda-10-supheli-gozaltina-alindi/2198148) to state-run Anadolu Agency, and called on four other retired officers to turn themselves in (https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/bazi-emekli-amirallerin-aciklamasina-iliskin-sorusturmada-yeni-detaylar-ortaya-cikti/2198416) within three days.

The prosecutor is investigating (https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/turkiye/bazi-emekli-amirallerin-aciklamasina-iliskin-sorusturmada-yeni-detaylar-ortaya-cikti/2198416) whether the officers have any links to serving members of the military.

[ORAC]

https://www.politico.eu/article/cyprus-recep-tayyip-erdogan-anniversary-turkey-invasion/

In Cyprus, Erdoğan provokes on anniversary of Turkish invasion

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is marking the 47th anniversary of his country’s invasion of Cyprus with provocations for a new age: a new town on land the international community says is not his, a new government complex and a proposal the international community rejects.…

[ORAC]

https://www.defensenews.com/2021/09/30/turkey-wants-compensation-for-ouster-from-us-led-jet-program/

Turkey wants compensation for ouster from US-led jet program

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey intends to seek compensation for its removal from a U.S.-led stealth fighter jet program (https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/07/17/turkey-officially-kicked-out-of-f-35-program/), possibly during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on the margins of a Group of 20 meeting next month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.….

Erdogan said he hoped to meet Biden at the G-20 meeting in Rome to discuss the F-35 project, including a $1.4 billion payment Turkey had made before its ousteing from the program.

Another meeting between the Turkish and U.S. leaders could also take place on the sidelines of a November climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Erdogan said.

“We made a $1.4 billion payment, what will become of that?” Erdogan said. “We did not - and do not - earn this money easily. Either they will give us our planes or they will give us the money.”

Asked about Turkey’s plans to purchase additional S-400 systems despite threats of further U.S. sanctions, Erdogan responded: “The S-400 process continues. There is no turning back.” His comments were reported by the private Turkish news channel NTV and other media…..

The U.S. also sanctioned Turkey (https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2020/12/14/us-sanctions-nato-ally-turkey-over-purchase-of-russian-missile-defense-system/) for its purchase under a 2017 law aimed at pushing back Russian influence. The move was the first time that the law, known as CAATSA, was used to penalize a U.S. ally.

Erdogan’s talks with Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi focused on steps that would deepen defense cooperation between Turkey and Russia, including partnerships for aircraft engines, fighter jets and submarines, the Turkish leader said.

Russia also could be involved in the construction of Turkey’s second and third nuclear power plants, and of a space launch platform, he said.…..

[ORAC]

https://www.ft.com/content/0fbd6226-f202-4c50-addc-15fb65ec2394

Turkey’s search for fighter jets puts Biden in a bind

https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/10/erdogan-testing-biden-request-buy-more-f-16s

Is Erdogan testing Biden with request to buy more F-16s?

[tdracer]

https://www.ft.com/content/0fbd6226-f202-4c50-addc-15fb65ec2394

Turkey’s search for fighter jets puts Biden in a bind

The Financial Times article is behind a paywall - can you post a quick summary?

[rjtjrt]

The Financial Times article is behind a paywall - can you post a quick summary?

This is another similar article:

https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-us/biden-bind-over-turkeys-search-fighter-jets-financial-times

It would seem a good idea not to force Turkey further away from "The West", if at all possible.

[ORAC]

Tdracer,

Using the FT Twitter link seems to bypass the firewall….

https://twitter.com/laurapitel/status/1448567419962855430?s=21

[Jackonicko]

It doesn't bypass it for me, Orac!

[Mr N Nimrod]

It doesn't bypass it for me, Orac!
works fine for me, try clearing your cookies

[ORAC]

Erdogan is threaten to attack Greece.

https://twitter.com/abdbozkurt/status/1566116408878145536?s=21&t=qJeotXQljSpvy5NHauCYrw


https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/erdogan-accuses-greece-occupying-demilitarised-islands-2022-09-03/

France says that if Turkey attacks they will intervene.

https://twitter.com/g_mastropavlos/status/1567446002495328256?s=21&t=qJeotXQljSpvy5NHauCYrw

[pr00ne]

Erdogan is threaten to attack Greece.



https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/erdogan-accuses-greece-occupying-demilitarised-islands-2022-09-03/

France says that if Turkey attacks they will intervene.

Playing right into Putin’s hands.

[ORAC]

https://twitter.com/pinstripedline/status/1616471672776785921?s=61&t=l1tx4cMbUTXsAPUT65SEjA


Potentially huge deals ahead, but requires multinational approval, may be problematic if Turkey holds up NATO accession for Sweden and Finland.

EXCLUSIVE: Turkey exploring massive UK arms deal involving planes, ships and tank engines

• Two squadron of Eurofighter jets
• C-130J cargo planes
• Three frigates
• Engines for M-60 tanks

💈The discussions continue, they aren’t in final stage

[GlobalNav]

Potentially huge deals ahead, but requires multinational approval, may be problematic if Turkey holds up NATO accession for Sweden and Finland.

EXCLUSIVE: Turkey exploring massive UK arms deal involving planes, ships and tank engines

• Two squadron of Eurofighter jets
• C-130J cargo planes
• Three frigates
• Engines for M-60 tanks

💈The discussions continue, they aren’t in final stage

Require Turkey to approve NATO expansion (Sweden, Finland, and others)>

[henra]

Require Turkey to approve NATO expansion (Sweden, Finland, and others)>
I hope no one in NATO sells them any new arms before they agreed to FIN + SWE joining NATO. There needs to be PRESSURE on Erdogan.

[Martin the Martian]

Would the 'two squadrons of Eurofighter jets' be the Tranche 1 Typhoons slated for retirement? With mention of the C-130Js I wonder if it is.

But yes, no deal without the approval for Finland and Sweden first.

[Ninthace]

Would the 'two squadrons of Eurofighter jets' be the Tranche 1 Typhoons slated for retirement? With mention of the C-130Js I wonder if it is.

But yes, no deal without the approval for Finland and Sweden first.
Shouldn't Greece be allowed an opinion too?

[ORAC]

https://twitter.com/historian_matt/status/1618360335894970368?s=61&t=lb-Gl9-XsAt1USb67Vxw4w


Apparently the Quran book burning fiasco in Stockholm was also paid for by a Russian agent.

​​​​​​​Erdogan has egg on his face. Hopefully Turkey responds by lifting its objection to Sweden's NATO membership and increased military aid to Ukraine.

[ORAC]

Turkish media reporting a Russian attack on the Turkish ship "Tuzla" in port at Kherson.

https://twitter.com/maria_drutska/status/1618356300064378880?s=61&t=lb-Gl9-XsAt1USb67Vxw4w

[ORAC]

https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2023/07/18/turkish-aerospace-aselsan-ink-2b-in-deals-to-upgrade-f-16-jets/

Turkish Aerospace, Aselsan ink $2B in deals to upgrade F-16 jets

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish Aerospace Industries has signed two contracts worth nearly $2 billion with the country’s largest defense company to upgrade F-16 fighter jets.

The deals announced by Aselsan, a military electronics specialist, were for $1.2 billion and 20.7 billion liras (U.S. $789.2 million).

The Biden administration has backed Turkey’s desire to buy 40 new F-16s as well as modernization kits from the U.S. It’s a move some in Congress, most notably Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J, have opposed (https://www.defensenews.com/global/2023/01/18/turkey-f-16-sale-in-limbo-amid-lockheed-backlog/) over Turkey blocking NATO membership for Sweden (https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2023/02/02/senators-want-to-block-turkey-f-16-sale-until-nato-expansion-succeeds/), its human rights record, its relations with Greece and other concerns.

Neither TAI nor Aselsan revealed details of the contracts, inked July 13. But a government procurement official and sources with the businesses told Defense News that the contracts are related to a program to upgrade Turkey’s aging F-16s, starting with the Block 30 level.

The upgrade program will include a new mission computer, an active electronically scanned array radar (https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2022/11/17/locally-made-aesa-radar-to-extend-life-of-turkish-f-16-jets/) and new avionic suites for about 150 Turkish F-16 aircraft. The program will also include new cockpit color displays, a new indigenous identification friend or foe system, a new system interface unit, a hydraulic fuel gauge, new radar warning receivers, and an inertial navigation system.

The backbone of the upgrade program is a subsystem dubbed Ozgur (”free” in English) that aims to develop and produce Turkey’s first AESA radar, which Aselsan officials hope will extend the flight time for some of the country’s F-16 aircraft by half, to 12,000 hours.

Per upgrade plans, the AESA radar will first be retrofitted onto the Akinci, a drone built by TAI; then on a batch of 36 F-16 Block 30 aircraft; and, in the longer term, the TF-X, Turkey’s first indigenous fighter jet in the making. Block 30 is the only F-16 model whose source codes are available to Turkey.

“This deal has two implications: One, it is part of Turkish efforts to balance Greece’s increasing air superiority (https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2022/05/17/greece-seeks-to-join-f-35-program-as-it-lobbies-against-turkey-f-16-sale/) over the Aegean Sea, especially by buying new French-made Rafales; and two, once [the upgrade is successful and the aircraft is] combat proven, it may pave the way for Aselsan and TAI to penetrate into the world’s large F-16 modernization market,” said Ozgur Eksi, who runs the media outlet TurDef.

In 2019, Turkey requested the Link 16 tactical data link, among other technology, for 199 F-16 jets. Then, acording to January 2023 media reports, the Biden administration “informally notified Congress of its intent to sell 40 new F-16s in the Block 70/72 Viper configuration (F-16Vs) and Viper upgrade packages for 79 existing fighters, along with 900 air-to-air missiles and 800 bombs, at an estimated total value of $20 billion,” a document (https://sgp.fas.org/crs/mideast/R47493.pdf) from the Congressional Research Service noted.…

[ORAC]

The Biden administration has announced its approved a $US23 billion deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey, after Ankara ratified Sweden’s Nato membership (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/23/turkish-parliament-meets-vote-sweden-membership-nato), the state department said.

The state department will now notify Congress of the agreement, as well as of a separate $8.6bn sale of 40 F-35s to Greece. Turkey will get 40 new F-16s and upgrades to 79 of the jets in its existing fleet, the state department said in a news release.

The powerful chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, Democrat Ben Cardin, said Friday he would permit the F-16 sale to Turkey. “My approval of Turkey’s request to purchase F-16 aircrafts has been contingent on Turkish approval of Sweden’s Nato membership. But make no mistake: This was not a decision I came to lightly,” he said.

After the transfer of the formal notification by the US state department, Congress has 15 days to object to the sale, after which it is considered final. US officials do not expect the Congress to block either sale, despite criticism of Turkey by some members.

Athens meanwhile strongly opposed the sale due to unresolved territorial disputes with Turkey in the energy-rich Mediterranean region. The US agreement with Turkey hinged first on Athens not obstructing the sale, and Greece was simultaneously granted more advanced F-35s.

[Lonewolf_50]

Everyone gets a little something.