Sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey would serve US interests, US
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Biden administration believes a potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey would be in line with US national security interests.
A letter, obtained by Reuters, sent to the Congress by the US State Department on March 17, said, “The Biden administration believes a potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey would be in line with US national security interests and would also serve NATO’s long-term unity.”
“The Administration believes that there are nonetheless compelling long-term NATO alliance unity and capability interests, as well as U.S. national security, economic and commercial interests that are supported by appropriate U.S. defense trade ties with Turkey,” the letter said.
Washington hasn’t expressed any opinion on the sale yet, saying it needs to go through the standard arms sales process, as well as the letter doesn’t provide any assurance or a timeline for the sale.
Ankara had previously ordered more than 100 F-35s, also produced by Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes, but the US sanctioned the NATO ally Turkey over its deployment of a S-400 Russian-made missile defense system, as it had removed Turkey from the F-35s program in 2019.
“The proposed sale will require a Congressional notification if the Department of State were to approve it,” the letter added.
On October 25, Democratic and Republican US lawmakers urged Joe Biden’s administration not to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, expressing confidence that Congress would block such a deal.
In a phone call on March 10, the Turkish president told US President that it was past time to lift all “unjust” sanctions on Turkey’s defense industry and that Turkey expected its request to purchase F-16s to be finalized as soon as possible, according to the Turkish presidency’s statement.
Over the past years, the partnership between the two NATO members has gone through difficult times, due to differences over Syria and Ankara’s ties with Moscow.