Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that his country will not give up its rights at all after being excluded from the project to manufacture the F-35 fighter jet, and also threatened to expel the ambassadors of 10 countries in response to its calls for the release of a Turkish opposition businessman.
Speaking to reporters on the plane while returning from his African tour that included Angola, Togo and Nigeria, President Erdogan said, "After removing Turkey from the F-35 program, we will recover $1.4 billion in any way, and talks with Washington are continuing."
He indicated that he will discuss with his American counterpart Joe Biden the joint steps to be taken regarding the "F-35" file during the G-20 summit in Rome, stressing that Turkey will not give up its rights.
President Erdoğan also referred to a meeting that Defense Minister Hulusi Akar will meet with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, on the issue of Ankara's exclusion from the fighter project.
Regarding Turkish-European relations, Erdogan criticized the European Union's handling of his country in the period following the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Angela Merkel of Germany, but he praised the period in which Jacques Chirac was president of France, Gerhard Schroeder as chancellor of Germany and Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister of Italy.
Osman Kavala is imprisoned on charges of involvement in the failed coup attempt in the summer of 2016 (French - Archive)
ambassadors expelled
Regarding the opposition businessman Osman Kavala, who is imprisoned on charges of involvement in the failed coup attempt in the summer of 2016, Erdogan threatened to expel the ambassadors of 10 countries, including France, Germany and the United States, in response to a call by these countries for his release.
"I told our foreign minister that we cannot allow ourselves to receive them in our country," Erdogan said. "Do you have the authority to teach Turkey such lessons? Who are you? Why are you asking us to release Kavala? Do you release murderers and terrorists in your country?"
In a statement issued Monday evening, Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the United States called for a "fair and speedy settlement of the Kavala case."
On Tuesday, the day after the statement was issued, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu summoned the ambassadors of the ten countries, saying it was "unacceptable" to demand that Turkey release the imprisoned dissident.
These ambassadors considered, in particular, that "the continued delay in his trial casts a shadow on respect for democracy, the rule of law and the transparency of the Turkish judicial system."