The Turkish Minister of Defense confirms the continuation of the tripartite meetings with Syria and Russia and announces progress in the F-16 fighter file

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that tripartite meetings between Turkey, Russia and Syria will continue in the coming days at the level of technical delegations, pointing to positive progress regarding the purchase of American F-16 fighters.

This came in a speech he delivered during his participation in the "Distinguished Observer's Day" activities, in the presence of his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov and Georgian Janshir Burchuladze in the Turkish state of Kars.

Minister Akar made it clear that Turkey follows a stable foreign policy based on logic, stressing that the only goal of Turkey's military operations in neighboring countries is to eliminate what he described as "terrorist organizations", secure borders, and prevent the influx of new refugees into Turkey.

He added that Ankara cannot take any step that would harm the Syrians residing in Turkey or inside Syria, stressing that it seeks to achieve a safe return for them to their homes.

Regarding the tension between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean Sea, Akar explained that Athens continues its provocations despite Ankara's efforts to establish stability and calm, noting that Greece continues to arm the islands in the Aegean Sea in violation of international law, and that officials in Athens make provocative visits to those islands. .

Regarding Turkey's intention to purchase American F-16 fighter jets, he said that there is positive progress in this file, and we expect Washington to take concrete steps as soon as possible.

He stressed that Turkey's strength is directly reflected in the strength of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). If Turkey is strong, then this means an increase in NATO's strength.

Akar touched on the efforts of Sweden and Finland to join NATO, saying Turkey supports - from the beginning - NATO's expansion, and Sweden and Finland must abide by their commitments in the tripartite memorandum that was concluded on the sidelines of the NATO leaders' summit in Madrid last summer.

On June 28, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding regarding the membership of the last two countries in NATO, after they pledged to respond to Ankara's demands regarding what Turkey calls "fighting terrorism."