US 'clear' on sending F-16s to Türkiye

ISTANBUL

US President Joe Biden is “clear and unequivocal” on sending F-16s to Türkiye, said US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday.

“President Biden has been clear and unequivocal for months that he supported the transfer of F-16s to Türkiye,” Sullivan told reporters at a news conference as part of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

“This is in our national interest, it's in the interest of NATO that Türkiye get that capability,” he added.

"He has placed no caveats or conditions on that in his public and private comments over the past few months and he intends to move forward with that transfer and consultation with Congress,” he added.

Asked about the timing of the F-16 transfer, he said: “The president has said all along that he is interested in getting these F-16s to Türkiye and he has backed that up by actually sending the package to the Congress.”

“So we will work with the Congress on the appropriate timing for getting them to Türkiye. But I can't speculate on the precise day it's going to happen, only that we support it getting done,” he added.

His remarks came after Türkiye greenlit Sweden's NATO bid on Monday.

Ankara requested F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits from the US in October 2021. The $6-billion deal would include the sale of 40 jets as well as modernization kits for 79 warplanes already in the Turkish Air Force’s inventory.

Noting that Biden released a statement on Monday night, “welcoming the agreement between Türkiye, Sweden and the NATO Secretary General including president Erdogan’s commitment to transmit Sweden's accession protocols for ratification,” he said.

“While this deal was of course the product of direct talks among the three parties to that agreement, NATO, Türkiye and Sweden, the United States had significant recent engagement with everyone involved.

“The president hosted the Swedish prime minister at the White House last week. He called President Erdogan on Sunday, and he'll look forward to meeting with President Erdogan this evening as well to discuss the full range of issues in our relationship,” he added.

Türkiye's EU bid

Asked about Türkiye’s EU bid, Sullivan said: “President Biden has long been on the record supporting Türkiye’s membership in the European Union.”

“The United States continues to support Türkiye getting on the path to membership to the European Union, and to seeing talks between the European Union and Türkiye unfolding in a way that is constructive for both sides,” he added.

“Of course, those talks would include discussions of the necessary reforms and steps relative to democratic resilience that every prospective applicant to the European Union goes through and that would include Türkiye as well,” said the Biden's advisor.

Asked about a possible link between Sweden’s NATO bid and Türkiye’s EU bid, he said: “NATO is NATO. The EU is the EU, the United States is not part of the EU.”

“So as far as we're concerned, these issues are not connected,” he added.

On Monday, just before departing for Lithuania, Erdogan said he will urge the NATO summit to open a path for Ankara's EU membership so Türkiye paves the way for Sweden's NATO membership.

"I am calling out to the countries that have kept Türkiye waiting at the EU gate for more than 50 years...

"First, let's pave the way for Türkiye in the EU, and then we will pave the way for Sweden just as we did for Finland," Erdogan said at a news conference in Istanbul before heading to Lithuania's capital Vilnius to attend a NATO summit.