US President Joe Biden (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the G2022 Summit <> in Indonesia (Getty Images)
After multiple talks and mutual meetings between officials of the military file in Turkey and Britain - which has been going on for more than two years - an agreement was finally signed recently, aimed at increasing the volume of cooperation in security and defense relations between the two countries.
The agreement includes London's agreement to sell Ankara forty Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, which it contributes to the production in partnership with Spain, Italy and Germany.
This agreement, which Spain and Italy supported, is rejected by Germany for reasons related to its vision of the human rights file in Turkey and its military interventions in northern Syria.
Spain and Britain pledged to work to convince Germany to change its position and agree to implement this deal because of its importance to NATO and its members in light of the difficult circumstances that the world is going through today, especially since Turkey's geopolitical position makes it dominate the gateway to the Black Sea.
This has so far contributed to obstructing the passage of Russian warships, and to the export of millions of tons of Ukrainian grain, saving the world from a famine that was likely to occur in many of its countries, if the export of Ukrainian grain stops due to the war between it and Russia.
Providing the Turkish Air Force with this type of European military aircraft in particular will undoubtedly be reflected in increasing Turkey's defense capabilities.
It will also work to fill the gap in its fleet of fifth-generation fighter jets, in light of the continued refusal of the US Congress to complete the deal to sell forty F-16 jets to compensate for its exclusion from the process of manufacturing and producing F-35 aircraft, and its insistence on linking this deal to Turkey's approval of Sweden's membership in NATO.
Sweden Membership
This approval is still stagnating, especially after the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament decided to postpone the vote on Sweden's request, attributing this postponement to the need for all members of parliament to be fully convinced and approved, which did not happen due to the lack of a written and announced roadmap to combat terrorism by the Swedish government.
The position of the Turkish parliament came in line with previous statements made by President Erdogan, in which he stressed that he will not tolerate countries that allow the violation of the sanctities of Muslims, in reference to the agreement of Sweden and Denmark to burn copies of the Holy Quran.
He added that he personally does not expect the Turkish parliament to approve Sweden's request, in light of the continued allowing PKK elements to protest and demonstrate in the streets of Stockholm, calling on Sweden to control its laws and make the necessary amendments to end this chaos in its streets.
Turkish advice to the US administration
Turkey's adherence to the British Eurofighter Typhoon deal, and insistence on its completion, indicates two things: First, it has lost hope that the F-16 deal can be completed in its favor, at least in the near future, after it was tied to conditions that Ankara sees as unacceptable interference in its sovereign decisions.
Second: a practical response on its part to the US position against its interests, and Washington's attempts to pressure it, and to trade its urgent military interests with its political positions, which is an unacceptable violation of the independence of its decision, national sovereignty, and vision of its national security.
The completion of the Eurofighter deal is in fact a message to the US administration that there are other alternatives available to Turkey, and that the reluctance to implement the F-16 deal - in addition to that it will not serve the interests of either country - will increase the damage to their overall strategic relations.
This means the decline of US influence in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean in favor of Russia and its allies, and that seeking to undermine Turkey's development of its war arsenal and impose sanctions on its military industry will not deter it from developing its capabilities, diversifying its sources of armament, and increasing the size of its military partnerships in order to preserve its interests and national security.
Direct warning to Greece and Cyprus
It is also a direct and clear message to its neighbors, Greece and South Cyprus, that it is determined to maintain its military superiority over them and develop its capabilities in the face of their arsenal, regardless of the size of American support for both, as the two countries enjoy unprecedented American military support, as they have been provided with a huge number of newly manufactured American weapons and ammunition, foremost of which are F-35 aircraft, from which Ankara was excluded, in addition to the transfer of many fighters in the US forces, and the establishment of a large number of US military bases on the and placing part of its naval fleet in their ports, which Ankara saw as an attempt by Washington to replace them with them, and raise their combat capabilities in exchange for reducing its military capabilities.
Removing anxiety from the arms race
Therefore, there is no doubt that this type of combat aircraft will ensure that Turkey continues to have the superiority of its air force in the region, which is rife with a lot of political tensions and ideological differences.
Especially those related to the European-American rejection of its movements in the Eastern Mediterranean, its efforts to explore for energy, and the pressure it is subjected to from its regional and international opponents to hinder its interests and limit its influence in areas that it has long considered a natural extension of its history, and a strategic dimension to preserve its national security.
In addition to removing its concern resulting from the expansion of air defense capabilities of a number of the region's most influential countries in its political tracks, such as Egypt, some Gulf countries, and Israel, a growing trend, where various types of weapons estimated at billions of dollars are flowing, with the support of France, the United States, and a number of European countries.
In addition, increasing the volume of cooperation - in the field of defense industries between London and Ankara - would modify the course of the latter's ambitions to develop its local fighter engine industry in cooperation with Ukrainian companies, as a result of the continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as Turkey currently plans to replace Britain with Ukraine, through its desire to expand the scope of cooperation between its defense industry companies and its British counterpart to develop its locally made aircraft engines, and benefit from British expertise in this field.
Economic and political gains
As for the political and economic gains that Ankara seeks to achieve from the completion of this deal, especially in light of its economic crisis, it is to raise the level of its trade relations with Britain, which is the second most important trading partner at the European level immediately after Germany, and the seventh trading partner in the world, with investments worth $ 19 billion.
The contribution of 3200,13 British companies is about $ 5.250 billion, out of more than $ <> billion of direct international investments inside Turkey during the past <> years, in the fields of: communications, technology, manufacturing, and energy.
Hence, it is clear how important Ankara attaches to the success of Britain and Spain in convincing Germany to complete this aircraft deal, to move forward in reaping the great gains that could result from it, which increases the strength of its influence at the regional and international levels, and gives it the ability to face the challenges and obstacles that stand in the way of achieving its political, strategic and security goals.