British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Monday for talks focused squarely on Turkey’s plans to acquire Eurofighter jets.
The visit comes as Turkey presses negotiations to purchase the European-made fighter jets, which are jointly produced by the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Turkey wants to modernize its air force and is hoping to acquire 40 jets.
A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Agence France-Presse on Monday that discussions were ongoing but said Britain would hand over a number of jets without saying how many.
Analysts said it would likely be two.
Birleşik Krallık Başbakanı Keir Starmer'ı Resmî Karşılama Töreni https://t.co/OGeTECvzCj
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) October 27, 2025
British officials have not said whether there would be an agreement or any formal handover during the visit.
“Turkey and the Eurofighter is quite the saga,” Aaron Stein, president of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told Agence France-Presse, saying Ankara had turned down an offer to join the European consortium, focusing instead on the US fighter jet program.
“Ankara was invited to join the consortium or become an equal member a few times but they chose the F-35,” he said.
But after Washington booted Ankara out of its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in 2019 over its purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defense system, Turkey turned its attention to Europe.
Germany initially blocked the sale over Turkey’s stance on the Gaza war, but lifted its opposition in July, clearing the way for the sale to go ahead.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits Ankara on Thursday for talks with Erdoğan.
Qatari leader due in Turkey
Last week Erdoğan flew to Doha for talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, with Turkey floating plans to acquire some of Qatar’s Eurofighters.
Any such move would likely be part of the deal with London who would have to give its approval, analysts said.
Although the Doha talks did not produce a concrete defense procurement deal, the two leaders signed a defense industry cooperation agreement.
The Qatari leader is due to visit Ankara on Tuesday for talks to clarify outstanding issues, the Turkish official said.
Qatar had placed an order for 24 Eurofighters in 2017 with the last two due to be delivered by year’s end, observers said.
The jets Britain was to sign over to Turkey on Monday were likely to be those that had been destined for Qatar, Stein said.
Instead of being sent to Doha, “they’ll simply be shipped to Turkey,” he explained.
Gaza’s future is also likely to feature in talks between Erdoğan and Starmer, with Turkey keen to join an international stabilization force — an idea firmly opposed by Israel.
© Agence France-Presse