U.S. Secretary of State visits Turkiye and pledges to provide “maximum support for earthquake damage”

delivery time2023-02-20 21:10

Turkiye calls for F-16 sale without preconditions

(Geneva = Yonhap News) Correspondent Ahn Hee = US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln visited Turkiye, which was hit by a strong earthquake, and held talks with Foreign Minister Mevlut Chausoglu and announced that he would provide maximum support for earthquake damage recovery.

According to Reuters on the 20th (local time), Minister Blincoln, who arrived in Turkiye on the 19th, said at a joint press conference held after the meeting with Minister Chowshowlu that morning, “Turkiye will help restore earthquake damage as much as possible as needed.” .

Minister Blincoln said, “The two countries did not agree on all issues, but they are partners who have endured challenges together.”

Recently, the US government decided to provide 185 million dollars (about 240 billion won) in humanitarian aid to help Turkey and Syria respond to earthquake damage. The funds will be used for essential items such as food, clothing, tents, medicines and bottled water, as well as medical services.

On the same day, Minister Chowshowlu raised the issue of purchasing F-16 fighter jets worth 20 billion dollars (about 25.9 trillion won) as an pending issue.

Recently, Turkey has used the issue of Finland and Sweden’s approval of joining NATO as leverage to draw a positive response from the United States to purchase F-16s, but the US Democratic Party is opposed to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian rule. They oppose it by arguing with the method.

Turkiye objected to the joining of NATO by Finland and Sweden on the grounds that Finland and Sweden supported or condoned the activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey defines as terrorists. there is.

However, unlike Finland, the conflict continues, such as warning that Sweden may withdraw its consent to join, saying that Sweden is not properly fulfilling its promise.

In response to voices demanding various prerequisites for the purchase of the F-16, Minister Chaushoulu said, “It is impossible for us to purchase fighters with any preconditions.” We can overcome the problem,” he said.

Minister Blincoln emphasized that he hoped that the issue of Finland and Sweden joining NATO would be resolved as soon as possible.

“The United States is supporting the two countries’ accession to NATO as soon as possible,” he said.

In this regard, Minister Chowshowlu said, “To address our concerns and gain support, all allies must persuade Sweden to do more.”

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2023/02/20 21:10 Sent