The move is a significant development in the expansion of the alliance, which has taken on additional importance since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- The State Department notified Congress of its approval of the $23bn F-16 sale to Turkey, along with a companion $8.6bn sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Greece, late Friday.
- The move came just hours after Turkey deposited its “instrument of ratification” for Sweden’s accession to NATO with Washington, which is the repository for alliance documents and after several key members of Congress lifted their objections.
The sale to Greece includes 40 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters and related equipment.
NATO ally Turkey has long sought to upgrade its F-16 fleet and had made its ratification of Sweden’s membership contingent on the approval of the sale of the new planes.
- The Biden administration had supported the sale, but several lawmakers had expressed objections due to human rights concerns.
Those objections, including from the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sens Ben Cardin, D-Md, and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, have now been overcome, officials said.
Mr Cardin said in statement Friday that he had still had concerns about Turkey's rights record, but had agreed to the sale based on commitments Turkey has made to improve it. “I look forward to beginning this new chapter in our relationship with Turkey, expanding the NATO alliance, and working with our global allies in standing up to ongoing Russian aggression against its peaceful neighbors,” he said.
Turkey had delayed its approval of Sweden's Nato membership for more than a year, ostensibly because it believed Sweden did not take Turkey’s national security concerns seriously enough, including its fight against Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara considers to be security threats.
The delays had frustrated the U.S, and other Nato allies, almost all of whom had been swift to accept both Sweden and Finland into the alliance after the Nordic states dropped their longstanding military neutrality following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Sweden's formal accession to Nato now depends on Hungary, which is the last remaining NATO ally not to have approved its membership. US and Nato officials have said they expect Hungary to act quickly, especially after Turkey's decision.
Biden voices support for selling F-16s to Turkey, denies ‘quid pro quo’
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- 11 Dec 2023 17:48
- Hurriyet reported that the reason for the aversion to sending the jets to Ankara was based on Washington's mistrust of Turkey, not Turkey's disapproval of Sweden's bid to join NATO.
- However, the lack of trust would be relinquished in return for Turkey's approval.
- Later that year, Erdogan mentioned that the US proposed Turkey purchase F-16 jets, which are one generation behind the F-35s.
- However, this deal required approval from the US Congress and faced strong opposition from many lawmakers.
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VIDEO Jan 27, 2024
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US approves $23bn sale of F-16 war planes to Turkey
The sale follows Turkey’s decision to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership
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