A senior US lawmaker has opposed plans by the Biden administration to sell $20 billion worth of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye, Reuters said, citing sources. The US State Department has sent an informal notice to Congress about the sale.
NATO member Turkiye has requested the purchase of 40 Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighter jets and some 80 retrofit kits for its current fighter jets.
The Biden administration has said it supports the sale and has been in informal contact with Congress for months to get it approved. However, he has so far failed to get the green light.
“As I have repeatedly made clear, I strongly oppose the Biden administration’s proposed sale of new F-16 aircraft to Turkey,” Sen. Bob Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
The sale is still in the informal review process. However, the US Congress is unlikely to approve the sale as long as Turkiye continues to oppose Finnish and Swedish NATO membership.
The two countries ended decades of neutrality last May and applied to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Turkey opposed it, accusing the countries of harboring militants, including from the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party ( PKK) and demanded that action be taken.
THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF TURKEY TO WASHINGTON
The notification, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes as Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu prepares to visit Washington on Wednesday for talks as the two NATO allies grapple with a series of disagreements, including on Syria and the purchase of weapons.
After the informal review, a process during which committee leaders can ask questions or raise concerns about the sale, management can technically follow through with a formal notification. But a senior US official said he “doubted” the administration would be in a position to proceed unless Menendez withdrew his objection.
(With contributions from agencies)
Now you can write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
