Turkish Armed Forces

The United States is seriously considering suspending training for Turkish pilots on advanced F-35 fighter jets as Ankara moves ahead with plans to purchase a Russian missile defense system despite objections from Washington, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

Defense Minister Evangelos Apostolakis said on Thursday that ongoing talks between Greek and Turkish military delegations in Athens are solely focused on confidence-building measures between the two countries and remarks that they are anything beyond that are "out of touch with reality."

Despite the fact that ongoing talks between Greek and Turkish military officials in Athens are ostensibly focused on finding ways to revive confidence-building measures, Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday that he has instructed his country's delegation to place all the differences dividing Athens and Ankara in the Aegean, Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean "on the table."

Ankara is determined to protect Turkish Cypriots' rights in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea under the international law, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on May 5.

Some 16,540 personnel of the Turkish military have been dismissed as part of Ankara's fight against FETÖ since a coup attempt in 2016, the Defense Ministry has said.

Turkey's military has sought to defend itself against accusations from a Greek marine conservation group that its naval exercises have been behind a recent spike in the number of dolphin deaths.
The military posted on Twitter on Tuesday a video and photographs of dolphins happily accompanying vessels during naval exercises.

Coordination between Ankara and Washington over delivery of F-35 fighter jets continues as well as training of Turkish pilots in the United States, Turkish military sources said on Thursday.
Turkey has not halted preparations at the Malatya airbase where the F-35 jets will be stationed, the sources said, adding that Turkey has fulfilled all of its obligations under program.

The Turkish Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces on March 26 conducted the first independent but coordinated patrol in northern Syria, Turkish Defense Ministry said.

Greece's Foreign Ministry on Friday criticized comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who reportedly said his country will respond every time Greek fighter jets fly over the Aegean, saying it is "completely unacceptable to compare the two events.

Defence Minister Evangelos Apsotolakis, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has warned of the danger of a possible accidental Greek-Turkish military clash in the Aegean and underlined that "we are making constant efforts to normalise the situation and defuse tensions".