Ankara currently has over 300 open foreign military sales worth almost $10 billion, US European Command (USEUCOM) chief Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti said in a congressional testimony on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th March, 2019) Ankara currently has over 300 open foreign military sales worth almost $10 billion, US European Command (USEUCOM) chief Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti said in a congressional testimony on Tuesday."A major customer of our defense technology, Turkey has 334 open foreign military sales (FMS) cases, valued at over $9.9B. These sales are important components of the broad US-NATO effort to ensure interoperability of equipment and combined training in Western tactics, techniques and procedures," Scaparrotti told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Scaparotti stressed that Turkey is an important strategic ally for both the United States and Russia, adding that USEUCOM is determined to boost bilateral ties between Ankara and Washington.
"USEUCOM actively participates in several ongoing efforts to explore strategic issues and find bilateral solutions mutually supporting US and Turkish interests," he said. "Through increased intelligence sharing, continued counterterrorism coordination, and regular military-to-military dialogue, USEUCOM is committed to strengthening the trust between the US and Turkey."
Scaparotti said Turkey currently faces two main security challenges due to its geographic location: "Russian subversion" and the ongoing terrorist threat posed by the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia).
"With instability along its southern border and more than 3 million Syrian refugees within its borders, Turkey has been affected by the Syrian war more than any other NATO country," he said. "Meanwhile, Russia benefits from political disputes between Turkey and NATO allies that it can exploit to undermine trust and unity. In alignment with the National Defense Strategy's direction to fortify the TransAtlantic alliance, USEUCOM will safeguard and strengthen the US-Turkey relationship."
Relations between Washington and Ankara have been strained over US support for Syrian Kurdish fighters, whom Turkey regards as part of the outlawed separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
