© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A US Air Force F-16 fighter jet takes off from an airbase during CRUZEX, a multinational air exercise organized by the Brazilian Air Force, in Natal, Brazil, November 21, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo
By Humeyra Pamuk, Patricia Zengerle and Mike Stone
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration has told Congress it is preparing the possible sale of $20 billion worth of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, drawing objection. immediate response from a senior US legislator who has long opposed it. the deal.
The State Department sent the informal notice to Congress on Thursday, three sources said, informing the committees that oversee arms sales in the Senate and the House of Representatives of its intention to proceed with the proposed deal.
NATO member Turkey applied in October 2021 to buy 40 Lockheed-Martin Corp (NYSE:) F-16 fighters and nearly 80 retrofit kits for its existing fighter jets. Technical talks between the two parties recently concluded.
The Biden administration has said it supports the sale and has been in informal contact with Congress for months to get it approved. However, he has so far failed to get the green light.
“As I have repeatedly made clear, I strongly oppose the Biden administration’s proposed sale of new F-16 aircraft to Turkey,” Sen. Bob Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
While the sale is still in the process of informal review, it is unlikely Congress will approve the sale as long as Turkey refuses to proceed with ratifying Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership.
The two countries ended decades of neutrality last May and applied to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Turkey opposed it, accusing the countries of harboring militants, including from the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party ( PKK) and demanded that action be taken.
THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF TURKEY TO WASHINGTON
The notification, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes as Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu prepares to visit Washington on Wednesday for talks as the two NATO allies grapple with a series of disagreements, including on Syria and the purchase of weapons.
After the informal review, a process during which committee leaders can ask questions or raise concerns about the sale, management can technically follow through with a formal notification. But a senior US official said he “doubted” the administration would be in a position to proceed unless Menendez withdrew his objection.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was disregarding human rights and democratic norms and engaging in “alarming and destabilizing behavior in Turkey and against neighboring NATO allies,” Menendez said in his statement.
“Until Erdogan stops his threats… and starts acting as a trusted ally should, I will not approve this sale.”
Menendez also said he was pleased with the news of the sale of the new F-35 fighter jet to Greece, referring to Athens as a “trusted NATO ally” and saying the sale “strengthens the ability of our two nations to defend shared principles, including our collective defense, democracy”. , human rights and the rule of law”.
Turkey’s acquisition of Russian air defense systems in 2019 resulted in Ankara’s expulsion from the next-generation F-35 fighter jet program and antagonized the US Congress. Disagreements with Washington over Syria policy and Turkey’s deteriorating record on human rights and free speech also weigh on congressional sentiment.
Under US law, Congress can block a sale by passing a disapproval resolution after formal notification of sale, but it is unlikely to do so if President Joe Biden decides to go ahead over the objections of lawmakers. While Congress has passed these types of resolutions in the past, it has never met the necessary two-thirds majorities in both chambers to overcome a presidential veto.
