Move FM Global News

WASHINGTON D.C.: The Biden administration was reported to have told Congress of a potential $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, which caused an immediate objection from Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has long opposed such a sale.

The State Department had informed committees overseeing arms sales in the Senate and House of Representatives of its intention to proceed with the deal.

In October 2021, NATO member Turkey announced a proposal to buy 40 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters and some 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes, which was supported by the Biden administration.

The administration has informally discussed the sale with Congress to win its approval, but it has failed to secure Congressional support.

“As I have repeatedly made clear, I strongly oppose the Biden administration’s proposed sale of new F-16 aircraft to Turkey,” Menendez said in a statement.

Congress is also unlikely to approve the sale while Turkey refuses to ratify the NATO applications of Sweden and Finland, which ended decades of neutrality when both countries applied to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey has objected to the applications of the two countries and accused them of harboring militants, including the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party members, and demanded action be taken.

At a press conference on the weekend, Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his chief foreign policy advisor, said Washington’s demands relating to the supply of the fighter jets were “endless.”

First reported by the Wall Street Journal, the news comes amidst the visit of Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, to Washington this week for talks on a host of issues, including Syria and weapons purchases.

In a statement, Menendez said, “Erdogan was disregarding human rights and democratic norms and engaging in alarming and destabilizing behavior in Turkey and against neighboring NATO allies.”

He also welcomed the sale of new F-35 fighter aircraft to Greece, stressing that Athens was a “trusted NATO ally.”