Ankara said last year it was keen to acquire Eurofighter jets, but talks have been slow to get off the ground.
A project to possibly supply Turkey with Eurofighter jets is a UK-led effort that is in the early stages, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says.
“There are certain projects that have just started, … one that the British government is bringing forward and that negotiations have now started,” Scholz said when asked about the issue at a press conference on Saturday in Istanbul with the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Turkey is a member of NATO and that is why we always make decisions that lead to concrete deliveries,” Scholz said.
There was no immediate comment from the British government.
Last year, Ankara said it was keen to acquire Eurofighter jets, but talks have been slow to get off the ground, largely because of Berlin’s opposition to Turkey’s stance on the Gaza conflict.
According to the German news magazine Der Spiegel, Berlin recently approved major arms deliveries to Ankara, including anti-aircraft missiles worth several hundred million euros.
This marks a clear change in direction after Germany drastically reduced its arms exports following Turkish offensives in Syria that began in 2016.
Erdogan acknowledged Scholz’s efforts to lift German restrictions on defense sales to Turkey.
“We want to leave behind some of the difficulties we experienced in the past with the supply of defense industry products and develop our cooperation,” Erdogan told reporters, expressing his “appreciation” for Scholz’s efforts to find solutions to the problems.
The Eurofighter Typhoon jets are built by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo and involve Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain. Although London is leading the negotiations with interested parties, any of the four nations can veto a sale.
Germany had previously been a large-scale arms supplier to Turkey, but in recent years German arms exports to Turkey have been lower.
The sale to Turkey has been controversial in Germany, partly due to some of the Turkish government’s international actions.
After Turkey’s initial land offensive in northern Syria in 2016, German export permits to Ankara were significantly reduced.
Another bone of contention in German-Turkish ties is Israel’s ongoing war against Gaza.
Erdogan on Saturday accused Israel of committing genocide in its attack on the Gaza Strip. He also called for pressure on Israel so that more humanitarian aid can reach Gaza and accused Israel of expansionist policies.
Scholz rejected Erdogan’s genocide charge on Saturday, and the German leader said civilian victims on all sides of the conflict should be mourned equally. He called for a ceasefire and the release of prisoners held by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.