Germany’s outgoing coalition government of Social Democrats and Greens is blocking the sale of 36 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Turkey, according to Handelsblatt.

Citing sources familiar with behind-the-scenes discussions within the outgoing German government, the newspaper reports that the main reason for halting the deal is the imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu last month. İmamoğlu, a key political opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was jailed on corruption charges widely described by Turkey’s opposition as “fabricated.”

Leaks from German government circles suggest Berlin strongly condemns Erdoğan, referring to the incident as an “attack on Turkish democracy.” This, they argue, justifies Germany’s veto on the Eurofighter sale, despite progress having been made during confidential discussions between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Erdoğan last fall.

According to Handelsblatt, the party of incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz is more open than the SPD to approving the fighter jet export to Ankara. Sources from both Christian Union parties (CDU/CSU) argue that the interests of the other Eurofighter consortium partners—the UK, Italy, and Spain—must be taken into account alongside Germany’s position.

In contrast, the Social Democrats insist that Merz should engage directly with Erdoğan and use the Eurofighter deal as leverage to push for İmamoğlu’s release.

A German veto on the Eurofighter export would deal a serious blow to Turkey’s efforts to urgently modernize its Air Force. Ankara is still hoping to rejoin the F-35 joint production program, from which it was expelled by the U.S. following its purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems.

The Eurofighter jets Turkey seeks to acquire would help fill operational gaps and introduce a new generation of fighters into its air fleet, while it continues development of its domestically produced Kaan fighter jet.

Next year, Ankara plans to buy 20 first-generation Eurofighter Typhoons from the UK, followed by an additional 20 advanced fourth-batch Typhoons.