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WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has permitted the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey following the Turkish authorities’s ratification this week of Sweden’s membership in NATO. The transfer is a major growth within the growth of the alliance, which has taken on extra significance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The State Division notified Congress of its approval of the $23 billion F-16 sale to Turkey, together with a companion $8.6 billion sale of superior F-35 fighter jets to Greece, late Friday. The transfer got here simply hours after Turkey deposited its “instrument of ratification” for Sweden’s accession to NATO with Washington, which is the repository for alliance paperwork and after a number of key members of Congress lifted their objections.
The sale to Turkey contains 40 new F-16s and tools to modernize 79 of its present F-16 fleet. The sale to Greece contains 40 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters and associated tools.
NATO ally Turkey has lengthy sought to improve its F-16 fleet and had made its ratification of Sweden’s membership contingent on the approval of the sale of the brand new planes. The Biden administration had supported the sale, however a number of lawmakers had expressed objections on account of human rights considerations.
These objections, together with from the chairman and rating member of the Senate Overseas Relations Committee, Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, have now been overcome, officers stated.
Cardin stated in assertion Friday that he had nonetheless had considerations about Turkey’s rights report, however had agreed to the sale primarily based on commitments Turkey has made to enhance it. “I look ahead to 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 stated.
Turkey had delayed its approval of Sweden’s NATO membership for greater than a 12 months, ostensibly as a result of it believed Sweden didn’t take Turkey’s nationwide safety considerations critically sufficient, together with its battle in opposition to Kurdish militants and different teams that Ankara considers to be safety threats.
The delays had annoyed the U.S, and different NATO allies, virtually all of whom had been swift to just accept each Sweden and Finland into the alliance after the Nordic states dropped their longstanding navy neutrality following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Sweden’s formal accession to NATO now is dependent upon Hungary, which is the final remaining NATO ally to not have permitted its membership. US and NATO officers have stated they anticipate Hungary to behave shortly, particularly after Turkey’s choice.
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