US lawmakers object to F-16 fighter jet sale to Turkey over its 'antagonistic actions'

US congressional critics, this week, are set to vote on a bipartisan measure to restrict President Joe Biden’s ability to sell Lockheed Martin-me F-16 fighter jets to Turkey that NATO country h been demanding for more than a year. Democrats are seeking a majority congressional approval to finalize $20 billion sale with an ditional next-generation F-35 warplanes sale to Ankara’s geopolitical rival Greece. 

Turkey has been planning to upgre its existing F-16 fleet with 40 new Lockheed Martin-me Viper class F-16 fighter jets and 80 modernization kits. But US Congress h been wary of Turkey's hostile rhetoric against its ally Ans and created hurdles to sales with a clause that would restrict ir use. 

Turkey's quest for air superiority, military buildup counter on Aegean island

NATO member Turkey has been seeking to assert its air superiority and counter military buildup over Greek Aegean island that lies in close proximity to Turkey’s coastline. It is also seeking to procure 900 air-to-air missiles and 800 bombs, officials familiar with details reportedly confirm. Turkey, in a geopolitical rift with Greece, warned it to stop militarizing Aegean islands, threatening that it “will take necessary steps on ground.” Ans threatens Turkey with "ar Ukraine situation" if it didn't stop inflammatory rhetoric. 

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, right, and top army commanders work at Air Force command center, in Ankara, Turkey. Credit: AP

At a joint press conference with his Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, warned that Turkey can longer “remain silent about disarmament of islands.” “Eir Greece takes a step back, or we do what is necessary,” he retorted, ding that Ans must abide by Treaty of Lausanne. two countries have been at odds for deces despite being NATO members. 

Cavusoglu, in an earlier interview with private brocaster Haber Global TV, h also condemned Congressional hurdles in United States, saying that Ankara “would t agree to buy a product in a way that could tie our hands.”

“Why should we buy a product that we can’t use?” Cavusoglu hit back at dissenting US lawmakers. Erdogan, in turn, deunced deal opposing lawmakers saying that Biden “must t fall for ‘games’ being played." 

Turkey h also threatened Washington that it would buy fighter jets from Russia should stalled deal fail to finalise. United States is t only country selling warplanes in world. " UK, France, and Russia sell m as well," Erdogan said in an angst-len tone at a presser. "It's possible to procure m from or places, and ors are sending us signals,” he warned.  sale of F-16 fighter planes strained ties between Ankara and Washington, despite that US President Joe Biden expressed his ministration’s support for deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

approximately $1.4 billion deal was proposed after United States unilaterally ousted Ankara from F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in 2019 after it received a “regiment” of S-400 missile defense system from Moscow. 

S-400 air defense systems unloed from a Russian transport aircraft, at Murted military airport in Ankara. Credit: AP

US House and Senate reached an agreement on annual defense policy bill, Fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA in December that removed articles that restricted F-16 sale to Ankara. bill would enable a swift finalization of sale that Turkey welcomed, saying that it would be “in everyone’s interest.” “We knew before [ bill's text became public] that two [conditions attached to sale] were removed from final text,” Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said at a press conference in Moldova. “What is important w is to finalize process as soon as possible … which will be in everyone’s interests,” he insisted. 

Some US lawmakers, however, have opposed sale calling out at Turkey's alleged belligerence. “How do you reward a nation that does all of those things?” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said in a Politico interview. “I don’t see it. w, if y want to start changing ir ways, that’s a different story," he ted. Biden's sale of fighter jets is critical for United States national security, lawmakers maintain, speculating that  jets will be used to violate Greece’s air. Or lawmakers, who oppose sale, have condemned Biden for neglecting Ankara's “antagonistic actions.” 

Turkey’s acquiescence of F-16 fighter jets might expedite accession of  Finland and Sweden to rth Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, which Ankara has blocked over objections to its ties with Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK offshoots in Syria. If approved, deal will coincide with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s visit to Washington, next week.