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Washington (PTI). The US government is preparing to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. US President Joe Biden’s government has told Parliament that it is preparing to sell its F-16 fighter jets to Turkey for $20 billion. At the same time, a senior US lawmaker, who has been opposing the deal for a long time, has again objected to the deal.
The State Department sent an informal notice to Congress on Thursday informing the committees that oversee arms sales in the Senate and House of Representatives of its intention to move forward with the proposed deal, three sources familiar with the matter said.
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Biden has supported the sale
NATO member Turkey requested the purchase of 40 Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighter jets and about 80 advanced kits in October 2021. Recently talks were held between the two sides regarding this. The Biden administration supported the sale and said it had been in contact with Congress on an informal basis for months to get its approval. However, a consensus has not yet been reached on this.
Senator Bob Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that he has repeatedly made clear that he strongly opposes the Biden administration’s proposed sale of new F-16 planes to Turkey.
Sale decision is in review process
This sale is still in the informal review process. It is currently unlikely to be approved by the US Congress as Turkey has refused to move forward with the support of Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership. Both countries voted last May to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But Turkey accused it of harboring militants, including the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and called for action.
Turkey’s foreign minister will go to America
It was first reported by The Wall Street Journal that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is preparing to travel to Washington on Wednesday for talks. In fact, two NATO allies are constantly disagreeing about Syria and arms purchases, on which Mevlut Cavusoglu will now go to Washington to discuss. And a senior US official said his administration would not be in a position to move forward until Menendez dropped his objection.
Menendez said in his statement- ‘Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is disregarding human rights and democratic norms. He has also engaged in dangerous and destabilizing behavior in Turkey and against neighboring NATO allies.
He added – ‘He will not approve this sale until Erdogan stops his threats and starts acting like a trusted ally.’
Edited By: Jagran News Network
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