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By JON MICHAEL RAASCH, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT
Published: | Updated:
Donald Trump is considering selling US-made F-35 fighter jets to Turkey despite the loud objections fromPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warns that it would ‘destroy’ regional peace.
‘Well, as I said, it would destroy the power balance in the Middle East because Turkey, I think, has aggressive aspirations,’ Netanyahu said of Turkey potentially obtaining the planes on Tuesday.
‘I mean, they openly say that they want to restore the Ottoman Empire,’ he continued, noting how Israel, Syria, Jordan and more were once under the yoke of the empire.
‘So this is not a force for peace and stability, and if you give this kind of radical regime … that power, you’re going to see aggression in its wake,’ Bibi told CNN.
Trump has been in Turkey for a NATO summit this week where partner nations from around the globe are meeting to discuss the security alliance.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly wants Trump to approve US military sales to Turkey, specifically US-made F-35 stealth fighter jets, one of the crown jewels of the US Air Force.
The US President has not decided on how to proceed with the sale of jets, in part, due to a 2018 law that was passed barring Turkey from owning Russian air defense systems and the powerful American-made jet.
Lawmakers were concerned that Russia’s S-400 air defense system could track, detect and collect intel on the F-35’s stealth capabilities.Officials were worried that if Turkey had both systems, it would pose a major risk to the plane’s technological edge.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went on various cable news outlets like Fox and CNN this week to warn that the sale of US-made F-35 jets to Turkey could ‘destroy’ regional peace in the Middle East
President Donald Trump has been considering the sale of the bespoke fighter jets to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
The F-35 jets are considered some of the best military tech in the world. They have been used throughout the US-Iran war and feature considerable stealth capabilities
Still, Trump says he’s considering the sale despite Bibi’s objection.
‘Well, it’s a decision we’re going to make,’ Trump told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the F-35 deal. ‘We have a very good relationship.’
‘I would think that many people, I can tell you many people, including the people sitting right here, think, ‘why wouldn’t we do that?” the President added as he was sitting directly next to Erdogan.
Trump continued: ‘We have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal. So, yeah, something certainly we would consider.’
Netanyahu seemingly has been on a US media blitz to convince the President not to push forward with the deal.
On CNN, he said Ankara is ‘a regime thats infected with the Muslim Brotherhood, which hates the United States.’
The Israeli PM also warned how Erdogan has threatened ‘to destroy my country, the one and only Jewish state.’
Speaking Monday on the morning show ‘Fox & Friends,’ the PMurged the US not to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, claiming that Erdogan ‘calls openly for the annihilation of Israel.’