After yesterday’s Ankara-London agreement for the purchase of 20 new Eurofighters, Turkey sees the prospect of strengthening its presence in the European defense space. Response from Istanbul

The important agreement to sell 20 Eurofighter fighters from Britain to Turkey particularly pleased the Turkish leadership, which sees the prospect of strengthening its presence as part of the European defense space.

Britain and Germany now seem to see Turkey as a country with which they could establish strong strategic ties. Significantly, Keir Starmer said yesterday that the UK and Turkey, which are at opposite ends of Europe, are vital to meeting today’s challenges. “This will allow our Armed Forces to work together even more closely to deter threats and protect our national interests,” he said.

Rave comments in the Turkish press

The Turkish press today celebrates and sees the agreement as “Turkey’s return to defense cooperation with Europe”. The Milliet newspaper entitled “New era in the Blue Homeland” believes that the purchase of Eurofighters is a signal of power in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. The deal worries Greece and Israel, writes the same newspaper, arguing that the purchase will change the balance of power, as the purchase of the Eurofighter has generated considerable buzz in the world press and upset Greece and Israel.

“Happy ending with the Eurofighter”, Aksam newspaper writes and adds that Europe “turned from the embargo to cooperation”, while pointing out that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose country belongs to the Eurofighter Consortium and which also seeks closer relations with Turkey, is coming to Ankara on Thursday.

No mention of Imamoglu

However, it is characteristic of the latest developments that although Starmer’s visit to Turkey coincided with the new arrest warrant for Ekrem Imamoglu, former Mayor of Istanbul and candidate for the presidency of the People’s Republic of Turkey, for his involvement in “espionage”, the British Prime Minister made no mention of it and the same is expected from the German Chancellor.