US Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake has praised the partnership between “indispensable” ally Turkey and Washington in the military defense sector, saying it plays a crucial role in advancing American security and prosperity as he cited a recent F-16 deal and US purchase of munitions from a Turkish company.
The opinion piece written by Flake on Turkey-US relations, titled “A strong relationship with Türkiye is in America’s best interest,” was published on the Utah-based Deseret News’s website on Wednesday.
My thoughts on the relationship between the U.S. and Türkiye https://t.co/1A1hZWL0f7
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) February 14, 2024
According to Flake, in Texas the Department of Defense is building three munitions lines purchased from a Turkish defense firm and an estimated 30 percent of all 155 mm rounds made in America will come from these Texas factories by next year.
The ambassador said the partnership with Turkey will boost the US’s critical munition stockpiles that must be replenished following the country’s “unprecedented assistance to Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion.”
Flake also mentioned the $23 billion deal to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, which was approved by the US government on January 26, after Ankara ratified Sweden’s NATO membership.
“In addition to this … deal, Türkiye’s ongoing defense sector transformation — from drones and high-tech components to engines and artillery shells — is integral to the US defense supply chain and the strength of our NATO alliance,” Flake said.
The ambassador also talked about Turkey’s “unflinching” support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity since Russia’s initial invasion in 2014, adding that its commercial sales of highly effective drones to Ukraine frustrated Moscow’s early ambitions for its full-scale invasion in 2022 and continued to undermine Russia’s war effort.
Flake further stated that Turkey’s implementation of the Montreux Convention, an international agreement that limits the passage of certain military vessels through the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits, has kept additional Russian warships from transiting into the Black Sea.
“We look to Türkiye to use its influence, historic ties and economic muscle in many corners of the world, as Türkiye is unique in its ability to open conversations with our adversaries in ways and in places we simply cannot,” the ambassador said.
He referred to Turkey’s well-placed strategic position to play a role in resolving the conflict in Gaza and positioned the country as a viable alternative to the People’s Republic of China in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia for nations seeking high-quality infrastructure without falling into the accompanying debt trap.
Saying that there are matters on which the US and Turkey disagree, like the fact that their approaches to countering ISIS do not always align, Flake noted that Turkey is an essential member of the anti-ISIS coalition and an “indispensable ally” for the US.