Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey would assess its reaction and how the balance of power between the two nations would shift once Greece receives the 5th generation F-35 jets, claiming Turkey was de-escalating tensions with its neighbor, in statements he made on Monday on Turkish TV.
Speaking to Haber television, the top Turkish diplomat underlined that Turkey had “historical issues with Greece in the Aegean Sea that we [Turkey] have inherited”.
“As mature states, we are considering the possibility of setting some issues aside moving forward. There is a serious effort to address the refugee issue from both sides and the relevant ministers.”
On the issue of Cyprus. he stressed it was a significant matter, but they were putting it on the back burner for now and focusing on finding solutions in the Aegean and addressing domestic problems.
On the procurement by Greece of the F-35 jets, and how it might change the balance of power in the Aegean, Fidan said Turkey would deal with it when they were delivered, adding that Turkey was running the F-16 program in partnership with the US (Tukey will get an upgrade of its current F-16 fleet).
Ankara has agreed to supply unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Egypt, a country expected to be visited shortly by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, solidifying the reconciliation between the two nations, as announced by the head of Turkish diplomacy.
According to the Turkish news agency Anka, Erdogan’s visit to Egypt is expected to take place on February 14.
