US President Joe Biden has urged Congress to approve “without delay” the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey once Ankara completes the ratification process for Sweden’s NATO accession, sources say.
Turkey has effectively blocked Stockholm’s NATO bid for nearly two years, alleging that the Nordic country has housed some Turkish citizens deemed as terrorists by Ankara.
However, Stockholm gained support from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July after it clamped down on Kurdish groups regarded as terrorist outfits by Ankara. Furthermore, Turkish lawmakers on Tuesday ratified Sweden’s membership of NATO after frustrating delays that strained Sweden-Turkey relations.
On Wednesday, four sources told Reuters that Biden had sent a letter to leaders of key Capitol Hill committees earlier in the day informing them that he is willing to commence the formal notification process for the sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 jets to Turkey once Ankara completes Sweden’s NATO accession process.
In his letter to the top Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, the American president urged them to approve the $20 billion sale “without delay.”
American legislators had said they were awaiting Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s NATO membership before moving to approve the sale.
Separately on Wednesday, the US State Department also called on Ankara to formally finalize Sweden’s NATO ratification, which requires Erdogan’s signature. The department, however, did not provide an exact timeline on the formal notification process for the F-16 sale.
Back in October 2021, Ankara asked to buy $20 billion of F-16 fighters and some 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.
NATO rules state that new members need all the 30 old members’ consent to join the Western military alliance.
