Some US lawmakers are expected to require that Turkey commit to ratify Finland and Sweden\u2019s entry into NATO as a condition for advancing any F-16 sale
\n Washington
\nThe Biden administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, and a separate sale of F-35s to Greece, in a proposal already facing significant scrutiny on Capitol Hill, said congressional aides familiar with the matter.
\nThe potential sale to Turkey, like Greece a NATO member nation, would upgrade the country\u2019s aging F-16 fleet and underscore Ankara\u2019s global influence as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attempts to showcase his role as a dealmaker in the Russia-Ukraine war.
\nWhile the Biden administration praised Erdogan\u2019s steps last year to broker an arrangement permitting Ukrainian grain shipments from the Black Sea, it remains critical of the Turkish leader\u2019s purchase of Russia\u2019s S-400 missile defense system and has voiced private frustration over his refusal to back Finland and Sweden\u2019s accession into NATO over those countries\u2019 stance on Kurdish figures who Ankara views as threats.
\nThe standoff over the Nordic nations\u2019 membership in the alliance underscores not only the complexity of U.S.-Turkish relations but also Turkey\u2019s ability to hold up NATO priorities. While Hungary, like Turkey, has not yet ratified Finland and Sweden\u2019s accession, Hungarian officials have said they will take that step when their legislature reconvenes in February.
\nThe decision to seek alliance membership after decades on the margins of NATO required a monumental shift for Swedes and Finns, underscoring Europeans\u2019 intense concern about Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
\nThe countries\u2019 advanced militaries would enhance NATO\u2019s capabilities while adding hundreds of miles to its shared border with Russia \u2014 a potential liability for the United States, which would be called to assist the new members in the event of a Russian invasion. U.S. officials have noted with satisfaction Putin\u2019s strong opposition to NATO expansion \u2014 a direct result of his invasion of Ukraine.
\nNATO officials hoped to finalize the expansion months ago. Nordic officials took several steps to allay Turkish concerns, but Erdogan has not budged.
\nSome U.S. lawmakers are expected to require that Turkey commit to ratify Finland and Sweden\u2019s NATO entry as a condition for advancing any F-16 sale, said the congressional aides. News of the proposed sale was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.
\nSen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Friday he would oppose the sale unless Erdogan takes several steps he supports.
\n\u201cPresident Erdogan continues to undermine international law, disregard human rights and democratic norms, and engage in alarming and destabilizing behavior in Turkey and against neighboring NATO allies,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cUntil Erdogan ceases his threats, improves his human rights record at home \u2013 including by releasing journalists and political opposition \u2013 and begins to act like a trusted ally should, I will not approve this sale.\u201d
\nTurkey first made its request for 40 new F-16s and 80 upgrade kits for existing warplanes in 2021, following its removal from the U.S. F-35 program. The United States blocked Turkey from obtaining its most sophisticated stealth aircraft after Ankara purchased the advanced Russian air defenses, incurring U.S. sanctions.
\nBut the sale may benefit from a geopolitical landscape reshaped by the Ukraine war. Since Putin\u2019s February invasion, Erdogan has maintained dialogue with both the Russian leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
\nThe separate sale of F-35s to Athens could serve to ease the concerns of Greek leaders, and their backers in Congress, given the long-standing tension between Greece and Turkey, who have quarreled over the island of Cyprus among other issues. The details of the sale have already been submitted to the relevant congressional committees for informal review, the aides said.
\nA State Department official declined to comment, saying it won\u2019t discuss proposed deals or transfers until they have been formally notified to Congress. This official, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a potential military sale.
\nThe U.S. executive branch typically submits such information to Congress for an informal review before officially notifying lawmakers of the deal, allowing them an opportunity to ask questions and raise objections. After formal notice, Congress has 30 days to vote on a joint resolution of disapproval. To date, no sale has ever been blocked by such a resolution.
\nLast summer, both the Defense Department and President Biden said the sale of F-16s to Turkey was in the U.S. national interest and had their support. Conditions attached to the sale by Congress were removed from the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act last month in exchange for a provision saying that no NATO members should conduct \u201cunauthorized territorial flights\u201d over another member\u2019s airspace.
\nThe Biden administration, seeking to illustrate its cooperation with Congress, appears unlikely to resort to the unusual measure the Trump administration took in 2019 to get around legislative opposition to the sale of arms to Persian Gulf countries. At the time, Trump invoked his emergency authority to sidestep Congress and complete 22 arms deals sought by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, despite lawmakers\u2019 objections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some US lawmakers are expected to require that Turkey commit to ratify Finland and Sweden\u2019s entry into NATO as a condition for advancing any F-16 sale Washington The Biden administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, and a separate sale of F-35s to Greece, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-307528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n