Germany is reportedly reconsidering its position on the restrictions it applies to Turkey in relation to the sale of defense material, according to reports in the Turkish press in the last twenty-four hours. An absolute priority for the Turkish side is the removal of Berlin’s objections to the supply of European 5th generation Eurofighter fighters.

Consultations between the two countries appear to have become more serious after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in New York last month, and in anticipation of the latter’s visit to Turkey later this month, if and the date is yet to be finalized.

The Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet notes today that, reportedly, after the New York meeting, the Turkish and German delegations communicated frequently on the Eurofighter issue, and as a result of the contacts, some progress was made in the Federal Security Council.

The United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, members of the Eurofighter consortium, approve the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Turkey, but this sale is “stuck” by Germany’s refusal. Turkey is trying to reach an agreement in the first phase for at least 20 Eurofighter fighters, worth 5.6 billion dollars.

The sale of the fighter jets has not yet been planned, but according to Cumhuriyet’s information, Berlin is conducting negotiations with Turkey regarding its sensitivity on the issue of “fighter jet use zones”.

At the same time, according to the publication of Cumhuriyet, as well as yesterday’s Milliyet cited by the German magazine Spiegel, Berlin has reportedly approved the sale of arms worth 336 million euros, mainly for the Turkish Navy. However, Milliyet notes that Turkish “security sources said about this claim that it is currently rumours”.

The report states that among the weapons systems approved for export are 100 guided missiles produced by the MBDA company and 28 SeaHake type torpedoes by the ThyssenKrupp company for the Turkish Navy. The price of the missiles amounts to approximately 100 million euros, while the price of the torpedoes to 156 million euros.

The report also notes that joint ventures involving German industries have been given permission to provide defense hardware packages for the modernization of Turkey’s U209 submarines. The relevant budget amounts to 79 million euros. In addition, the German government will proceed with the delivery of parts for engines, intended for Turkish corvettes and frigates, worth 1.9 million euros.