The White House announced that the administration of US President Joe Biden wants to “move forward” on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
“Biden’s position has not changed. We still want to move forward,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council.
In response to a question about whether there was any movement in the US Congress regarding the possible development of an agreement on the F-16 after the elections in Turkey, Kirby said that he was not aware of any guarantees in this regard, adding: I I can only speak for President Biden on this matter, and nothing has changed in his desire to make progress with the F-16.
Ankara and Washington have agreed to sell 40 new F-16s and 79 upgrade kits, but the process is pending approval from the US Congress.
Some members of Congress objected to the sale and linked their approval of Ankara’s ratification of Sweden’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), while Turkey refuses to link the fighters to Sweden’s entry into the alliance.
Source: agencies