The Biden administration has given its nod to a $23 billion deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey. The approval came after Turkey ratified Sweden’s NATO membership. The state department is set to notify Congress about this agreement and a separate $8.6 billion deal to sell 40 F-35s to Greece.
Turkey is expected to receive 40 new F-16s and upgrades for 79 existing jets, according to a statement from the state department. Notably, the approval process was contingent on Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership. The US official emphasized the sensitivity of the negotiations, revealing that the approval was granted only after Turkey’s instruments of ratification arrived in Washington.
The delay in Turkey’s parliament ratifying Sweden’s NATO membership had caused disruptions over the past year, impacting Western efforts to demonstrate solidarity in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan initially opposed Sweden’s NATO bid due to perceived support for Kurdish groups considered “terrorist” by Ankara. In response, Sweden took security measures and tightened anti-terrorism legislation.
Erdogan then sought the fulfillment of a US pledge to deliver F-16 fighter jets, which faced resistance in Congress due to concerns about Turkey’s human rights record and tensions with NATO member Greece. Senator Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, expressed conditional approval, linking it to Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s NATO membership.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken led diplomatic efforts to broker the deal. He conveyed to President Erdoğan that the F-16 sale depended on Sweden’s NATO bid approval, emphasizing this message three times during a visit to Ankara after the February 2023 earthquake. The deal now heads to Congress, where leaders of relevant committees can raise concerns or ask questions. After formal notification, Congress has 15 days to object.
Despite criticism of Turkey by some members, US officials do not anticipate Congress blocking the sale. Greece opposed the deal due to unresolved territorial disputes with Turkey in the Mediterranean. However, the US agreement hinged on Athens not obstructing the sale, and Greece was simultaneously granted more advanced F-35s.
This F-16 deal is significant for Turkey’s aging air force, which faced setbacks after being expelled from the F-35 joint strike fighter program in 2019 over Turkey’s acquisition of an advanced Russian missile defense system. With Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s NATO membership, Hungary remains the last country yet to ratify in an accession process initiated by Sweden and Finland in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán invited his Swedish counterpart to Budapest for discussions on the NATO bid.
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