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The F-16 motion comes after Turkey’s parliament accepted Sweden’s accession into NATO on Tuesday and amid indicators Turkey and its fellow NATO ally Greece have been repairing ties.
The package deal could be the second main navy sale to Turkey that Congress has accepted in current months. In April, Washington signed off on a $259 million package deal of avionics software program upgrades for Turkey’s present F-16 fleet.
Senate International Relations Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.) stated in a press release Friday that he would allow the sale after Ankara accepted Sweden’s membership bid.
Cardin, who’s amongst lawmakers with misgivings over different points associated to Turkey, stated he desires Turkey to make progress on human rights, take a stronger stance in opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and tamp down its rhetoric within the Center East.
“My issues have been strongly and constantly conveyed to the Biden administration as a part of our ongoing engagement, and I’m inspired by the productive path of their discussions with Turkish officers to handle these points,” Cardin stated in a press release.
“I stay up for starting this new chapter in our relationship with Turkey, increasing the NATO alliance, and dealing with our world allies in standing as much as ongoing Russian aggression in opposition to its peaceable neighbors,” he added.
The highest 4 leaders of the Senate International Relations and Home International Affairs panels should log off on overseas arms gross sales offered to Congress, giving the highest Democrats and Republicans on these committees an efficient veto over Biden’s designs on promoting U.S.-made fighters to Turkey.
Cardin’s transfer is
a pivot from his predecessor atop the International Relations Committee. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who relinquished the committee gavel after he was indicted on federal corruption expenses, was a staunch opponent of promoting U.S.-made jets to Ankara.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s stalling of Sweden’s accession to the NATO alliance is way from the one grievance that held up the deal. Turkey’s spotty human rights document, incursions into Greek airspace and buy of the Russian-made S-400 air protection system had elevated tensions with the U.S.
The sale of F-16s additionally comes after the U.S. booted Turkey from this system for the extra superior F-35 fighter, additionally constructed by Lockheed Martin.
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