German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Istanbul to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and discuss the future of bilateral relations.
Two leaders last met in New York at the 79th United Nations General Assembly in September and are expected to discuss the Ukrainian war, İsrail —Gaza war, migration, EU—Turkiye relations, and bilateral political relations. Turkiye’s desire to acquire Eurofighter jets will be the turning point of the meetings. It is known that the prelimany technical talks have already started in September.
Germany has been implying an arms embargo on Turkiye for five years. This stance will likely change course as a decision to sell some weapons and ammunition to Turkiye was reached last month. The new step is awaiting the Eurofighter acquisition plans.
It is known that Turkiye wants to acquire brand-new Eurofighter jets. Several options were discussed in the past, but Germany refused this deal.
Turkiye wants to have up to 40 Eurofighters, which is equivalent to two squadrons. The Turkish desire to establish fighters using the latest technology is not easy to meet. The Royal Air Force stands in the front line at the queue. Alternatively, Turkiye might acquire some second-hand aircraft and upgrade to the latest technology while receiving the remaining batches from the production line.
