DefenceTalkTurkey’s justice minister Thursday said Sweden’s pledge to extradite a Turkish convict fell far short of Stockholm’s commitments under a deal paving the way for its NATO membership bid. NATO member Turkey is threatening to freeze Sweden’s attempts to join the Western defence alliance unless it extradites dozens of people Ankara accuses of “terrorism”. A […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-says-first-swedish-extradition-falls-short-of-demands-79217/

DefenceTalkTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday renewed his threat to “freeze” the NATO membership bids of both Sweden and Finland unless the military alliance complies with Ankara’s conditions. At a NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June, Erdogan called on the two countries to “do their part” in the fight against terrorism, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/erdogan-renews-threat-to-freeze-swedish-finnish-nato-bids-79104/

DefenceTalkPresident Joe Biden on Thursday said the United States should go ahead with the delayed sale of F-16 warplanes to Turkey but noted that Congress needs to give approval. “We should sell them the F-16 jets and modernise those jets as well,” Biden said, adding there was “no quid pro quo” linking the sale to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/biden-says-us-should-sell-f-16-fighter-jets-to-turkey-79063/

DefenceTalkGreece has formalized a request for US-made F-35 fighter jets, its prime minister said Thursday, with Athens seeking to bolster its airforce amid tension with neighboring Turkey. “It is our intention to acquire a squadron of F-35s, with a possible option on a second (squadron),” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the end of a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/greece-formalizes-request-for-us-made-f-35-fighter-jets-pm-79051/

DefenceTalkSweden may have clinched a surprise deal with Turkey paving the way for its NATO membership, but Kurds and leftwing parties expressed concern Wednesday about the concessions made to Ankara. “We did not cave in to (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan”, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said from the NATO summit in Madrid where the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/relief-and-concern-in-sweden-after-nato-deal-with-turkey-79048/

DefenceTalkFinnish and Swedish leaders will discuss their stalled NATO bids with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday at the start of an alliance summit in Madrid, Helsinki said on Monday. But Turkey said the four-way meeting, which will also involve NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, did not mean that Ankara was close to lifting its […]https://www.defencetalk.com/finland-sweden-leaders-to-discuss-nato-bid-with-erdogan-79029/

DefenceTalkTurkey on Monday said it did not view next week’s NATO summit as a final deadline for resolving its objections to Finland and Sweden joining the Western defence alliance. The comments from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top foreign policy adviser followed a round of urgent talks in Brussels that NATO leaders had hoped would […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-says-nato-summit-not-the-deadline-for-finland-sweden-talks-78992/

DefenceTalkTurkey said on Wednesday that it was waiting for a “written response” from Sweden and Finland to Ankara’s objections to their NATO bids. “We have transmitted our questions in writing to these two countries,” Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters. “Now we’re waiting for their written responses,” he said. The two Nordic countries reversed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-written-response-finland-sweden-over-nato-78964/

DefenceTalkTurkey’s blockage of Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership bids may not be resolved in time for the alliance’s summit later this month, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday. He said NATO was “working hard” to resolve “legitimate” issues raised by Turkey. Stoltenberg had previously insisted that the two nations would be welcomed “with open arms,” […]https://www.defencetalk.com/stalled-finnish-swedish-nato-bids-may-drag-on-nato-chief-78961/

DefenceTalkLooping in the air at lightning speed, Turkish drones like those used against Russian forces in Ukraine draw cheers from the crowd at an air show in Azerbaijan. Turkey is showcasing its defence technology at the aerospace and technology festival “Teknofest” that started in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku this week. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-shows-off-drones-at-azerbaijan-air-show-78835/