Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says selling F-35 jets to Turkey would undermine regional stability, citing Ankara’s aggressive ambitions.
WASHINGTON: The US sale of F-35 stealth warplanes to Turkey would “destroy” the balance of power in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
His remarks came after US President Donald Trump said earlier in the day that he was considering such a move despite booting Turkey out of the F-35 program in 2019 over Ankara’s purchase of a Russian air defense system.
“It would destroy the power balance in the Middle East, because Turkey, I think, has aggressive aspirations,” Netanyahu told CNN in a televised interview, adding: “When you give them that power, you’re going to see aggression in its wake.”
Turkey has long sought to be readmitted to the F-35 program and for US sanctions that have soured ties and hampered Turkish defense projects to be lifted.
Netanyahu has previously opposed the sale of the warplanes to Turkey, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is counting on his good relations with Trump to help secure the delivery of five jets, for which payment has already been made.
