Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly opposed US President Donald Trump's proposal to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, warning that the move would undermine the balance of power in the Middle East, even as Trump moved to lift sanctions on Ankara and signalled a reset in ties with the NATO ally.
Speaking in an interview with CNN, Netanyahu said he had personally urged Trump not to approve the sale of America's most advanced fighter aircraft to Turkey.
"The sale of F-35s doesn't make Turkey a friendly state to the United States," Netanyahu said, describing Turkey as "a regime that's infected with the Muslim Brotherhood, which hates the United States."
Calling Turkey "not a force for peace and stability," Netanyahu warned that supplying Ankara with F-35 jets would have serious regional consequences.
Netanyahu also revealed that he had directly conveyed his concerns to Trump, saying that selling the aircraft to Turkey would "destroy the power balance in the Middle East."
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Rome to host Israel-Lebanon talks Italy will host the next round of peace talks between Israel and Lebanon in mid-July as the two technically warring neighbors look to cement a fragile transition toward lasting stability. The upcoming round of negotiations, scheduled for July 15 and 16, will be held at the ambassadorial level in the Italian capital. Like the multiple iterations preceding it, this critical diplomatic effort is being closely mediated and facilitated by the United States. The Rome summit marks the sixth round of negotiations since the spring between the two neighboring nations. Israel and Lebanon share no formal diplomatic relations and have been pushed into a catastrophic security crisis since the regional escalation following the outbreak of the war in Gaza. |
