Germany initiates Eurofighter technical talks with Turkey
Germany has given the green light for the start of technical negotiations with Turkey on a possible Eurofighter Typhoon jet sale to Ankara, people familiar with the issue told Middle East Eye, easing its opposition to the purchase.
“The German Federal Security Council in a secret meeting decided to allow the Eurofighter consortium to share the specifications of the fighter jet with Turkey and begin technical consultations,” said one person close to the issue.
The jets are produced by a consortium of countries consisting of Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK. All support the sale except Germany, which had blocked it over concerns that Ankara could use such weapons in Syria and Iraq against armed Kurdish groups.
Ankara plans to purchase up to 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets for a deal reportedly valued at $5.6bn.
A second person familiar with the issue told MEE that the technical exchange of information would focus on what a deal would look like if the sale went through with Berlin’s blessings.
“This would include the complete technical details of the fighter jet, its procurement stages, training, spare parts management and maintenance protocols”, the person added.
However, the source emphasised that the move didn't mean a sale had gone through.
Berlin’s decision came as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York last month.
Scholz will visit Ankara on 19 October, the German government has announced. Several sources suggested that the German prime minister sought a deal to expedite the rapid repatriation of some 15,000 Turkish citizens whose asylum applications had failed.
Airbus, a main partner in the Eurofighter consortium, told media that the fighter jets could arrive in Turkey sooner than expected.
"Airbus is providing great support to overcome political problems," said Simon Ward, Airbus's Turkey chief. "We can see Eurofighters in Turkey in a short time."
A European official last week said that Germany had options to block the process down the road, even if it decided to begin negotiations for a sale with Ankara.
Turkish defence ministry sources on Thursday told media that they expected the Eurofighter sale process would continue positively and reach a resolution.
Turkey is expected to receive the first batch of 24 Eurofighter jets in the initial phase, with the remaining 16 arriving in future stages.
Sources familiar with the issue told MEE last week that Germany had decided to reconsider Ankara’s Eurofighter purchase request “with a fresh mind”, following regional tensions between Ukraine and Russia, and the Gaza war.