U.S. President Joe Biden sent a letter to Congress committees on Jan. 24, saying he intends to launch the process for the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey once Ankara finalizes Sweden's NATO admission process, Reuters reported, citing undisclosed sources.
The news came after Turkey's parliament voted to approve Sweden's accession to the alliance on Jan. 23, leaving the final sign-off by the Turkish president as the last remaining step. Turkey had dragged out the process of Sweden's entrance into NATO for more than a year since Stockholm initially applied in May 2022.
In a letter sent to leading Republican and Democratic members of the foreign affairs committees in both chambers of Congress, Biden asked lawmakers to approve the sale "without delay," Reuters said, citing a U.S. official.
Turkey requested to buy $20 billion worth of F-16 aircraft and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes from the U.S. in October 2021. The Turkish Air Force currently operates around 240 F-16 fighter jets.
The finalization of the deal has been delayed as it became linked to Turkey's approval of Stockholm's entry to NATO.
Both Sweden and Finland applied to join the Alliance in May 2022 due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Turkey initially blocked both of their bids but gave the green light to Helsinki in March 2023.
Ankara said it had opposed Sweden's admission due to the Nordic country's alleged support for Kurdish groups that Turkey considers to be terrorists, which Sweden denies.
Turkish opposition began to weaken last July when the country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said he would forward Stockholm's bid to the Turkish parliament after Sweden had agreed to address Turkey's "legitimate security concerns."
Nevertheless, the Turkish parliament has continued to delay the ratification until earlier this week.
After Turkey, Hungary remains the last obstacle to Sweden's admission. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Jan. 24 that Budapest supports Stockholm's entry.
Dinara Khalilova
