The topic of “the distribution of wealth in the Aegean” was raised again Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akarin an interview with state news agency Anadolu.

“We constantly declare that we are in favor of sharing the riches of the Aegean,” the minister stressed, adding that Turkey “always stands for dialogue, we are ready to come when we are called, and vice versa.”

Referring to the recent train accident, he noted that “we also contacted the Greek ministers by phone and stated that we are always open for dialogue. There was a train accident in Greece, and we expressed our condolences as soon as we learned about it. This mutual diplomacy of earthquakes is also taking place.”

“The release of the F-16 is slow”

Regarding the F-16, Akar acknowledged that “it’s going a little slow. This is the most important issue for us. We are buying 40 F-16 Block 70 Vipers. Along with these F-16s, the F-16s we already have are being upgraded. As part of these modernization activities, our interagency negotiations with the US Department of Defense have reached a positive point. At the same time, we know that this is supported by the White House and sent to Congress.”

According to SKAI, a Turkish official commented to the opposition: “We want it to be known that any extreme way in this matter can really create problems for the parties, that we are not desperate in this matter and that we have many alternatives at our disposal. They should not lead events in an undesirable direction with reasoning that changes from day to day, emotional and irrational thoughts.”

“They owe us $1.4 billion and…five F-35s”

“On the F-35 issue, our partnership ended and we parted ways, which cannot be explained either legally or morally. The meeting took place on January 18. At this meeting, an agreement was reached on economic, political and technical issues. We will continue negotiations in the coming days,” Akar said.

“Returning to the program is a separate issue. At present, the aim of our negotiations is $1.4 billion payment which we have paid. We currently have five F-35s that we are eligible for and we are discussing their future. Our negotiations continue without prejudice to our own rights and interests.”