-"The annual NATO summit will open in Ankara this coming Tuesday…"
-"…while Trump attacked and threatened almost every European leader for opposing the war with Iran, he is showering Erdogan with praise and gifts. The contrast is even more striking in Trump's own remarks, when he said Erdogan "could have joined the war … on Iran's side," and that he himself had to ask him to "stay out," which supposedly won admiration from the American president.
On the same occasion, Trump again said Erdogan was a great leader and that he would come to the summit in Ankara out of respect for him, promising to bring "a gift that will make him very happy." In the background, of course, are the consistent reports that the administration wants to return Turkey to the F-35 fighter jet program, from which it was removed in 2019 because of its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system.
Another gift, certainly more immediate and more likely, is the F-110 engines intended to power Turkey's domestically produced KAAN fighter jet. The US State Department recently informed senior lawmakers that it intends to bypass congressional opposition and approve the sale of the engines to Ankara, in a deal worth more than $700 million."
Posted by Wolfy1-2-3