According to a report published Wednesday, the Biden administration has stated in congressional correspondence that the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye would serve US interests and strengthen NATO unity.
Turkiye requested in October that Washington sell it 40 F-16s and 80 kits to modernize its existing fleet, according to the letter obtained by Reuters. In late March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that talks with the US were going well.
Turkiye was sanctioned by the US in 2020 after Ankara purchased the advanced Russian S-400 air defense system and was removed from the F-35 joint strike fighter program the year before.
The S-400, according to the US, could be used by Russia to steal data on the F-35 and is incompatible with NATO systems. The S-400, on the other hand, will not be integrated into NATO systems, according to Ankara, and poses no threat to the F-35.
In a letter to congressman Frank Pallone, Naz Durakoglu, the State Department’s top official for legislative affairs, acknowledged the ongoing tensions over additional arms sales to Turkiye, but insisted that the sanctions and removal of the F-35 represent “a significant price paid” for the S-400 acquisition.
“The Administration believes that there are compelling long-term NATO alliance unity and capability interests, as well as U.S. national security, economic, and commercial interests, that are supported by appropriate U.S. defense trade ties with Turkey,” Durakoglu wrote to Pallone, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s chairman.
“If the Department of State approves the proposed sale, it will need to be reported to Congress. We reaffirm our commitment to the existing defense trade authorization procedures, which include congressional oversight “According to a copy of the letter that was circulated on social media, she added.
Turkiye’s active contributions to NATO, as well as its support for “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and cooperative defense relations,” are “an important deterrent to malign influence in the region,” according to Durakoglu.
When contacted by Anadolu Agency, the State Department declined to confirm the letter’s authenticity, but a senior State Department official stated that the US “strongly values its partnership with its NATO Ally Turkey.”
“The US and Turkey have deep bilateral defense ties, and Turkey’s continued NATO interoperability remains a priority,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.