Biden demands Turkish approval of Swedish NATO bid for F-16s
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – US President Joe Biden revealed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed, in a phone call on Monday, his intention to purchase F-16 fighter jets. However, Biden demanded Turkey drops objection to Sweden’s NATO bid in turn.
Biden told reporters that Erdogan “still wants to work on something on the F-16s. I told him we wanted a deal with Sweden, so let’s get that done.”
The two talked when Biden called Erdogan to congratulate him for his victory in Turkey’s presidential election on May 28.
Biden, speaking on Sweden’s NATO bid, stressed that the issue was raised during the call, adding that “we’re going to talk more about it next week.”
Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in May 2022, prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, but Turkey and Hungary did not immediately approve their bid.
Turkey justified holding out by claiming that the Scandinavian applicants supported the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
However, in March, Turkey ratified Finland’s bid while still holding out on Sweden.
Turkey requested in October 2021 to buy 40 Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.
The Biden administration, in January this year, informally notified the Congress of its intention to sell 40 new F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, along with 80 upgrade kits to modernize the Turkish Air Force’s existing F-16 fleet.
In February, 29 senators informed US President Joe Biden in a letter that Congress will not support the F-16 sale if Turkey does not stop blocking Sweden and Finland’s entry into NATO.
In April, a $259 million package including avionics software upgrades for Turkey’s current fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft was approved by the US Congress, days after Turkey ratified Finland’s NATO accession and it appeared like it was easing tension with its neighbor Greece, ahead of the Turkish elections.
Biden and Erdogan agreed, during their call on Monday, to deepen cooperation in all aspects of their bilateral ties, which have grown in importance in the face of regional and global challenges, according to the Turkish presidency.