The Turkish government expects Germany to enable progress in its long-discussed purchase of ultimately 40 Eurofighter jets, sources familiar with the matter told dpa on Thursday.
Ankara is expecting “positive signals from Germany” on the subject, said the sources, adding “technical talks” are still under way. The German Ministry for Economic Affairs declined to comment when asked by dpa.
Turkey hopes to boost its defence capabilities with 40 Eurofighter Typhoons. Germany is involved in the production of the Eurofighters, and Berlin’s approval is required for an export deal.
Turkey has since last year been pushing for German approval for the purchase. Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler said at the time that Ankara already had the approval of the UK and Spain, the remaining contractors.
German news magazine Der Spiegel over the weekend reported that the German government may be preparing for a change of course in arms exports to Turkey.
According to the Der Spiegel report, Berlin has approved arms exports worth several hundred million euros to NATO partner Turkey – including 100 anti-aircraft missiles and torpedoes for the Turkish navy and material packages for the modernization of Turkish submarines and frigates.
The German Ministry for Economic Affairs did not want to confirm the report when asked.
Until the failed military coup in Turkey in 2016, Germany approved arms exports to the country on a large scale.
German arms exports to Turkey significantly reduced to a single-digit million range following the attempted coup and Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria.
For the whole of 2023, there were around 17 Turkish arms import applications worth a total of €1.22 million ($1.34 million), according to German government.
