Ankara seeks acceleration in F-16 sales as Menendez departs from key office

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the stepping down of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez as head of the chamber's Foreign Relations Committee provides an opportunity to accelerate the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye.

“Thanks to this development, we may have an opportunity to speed up the process regarding the F-16 sale. Menendez and those who share his mentality are not only creating obstacles on the F-16s but on all other issues,” Erdoğan told journalists on his return from Nakhichevan, where he had talks with Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev on Sept. 25.

Menendez has temporarily quit his position as the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee at the Senate following he was indicted on bribery charges. Menendez, one of the strongest supporters of the Greek lobby in the U.S., has been blocking the sale of 40 new F-16s to Türkiye. His departure from the office would ease the hands of the Biden administration and start the process for the sale of the fighter jets.

Reiterating that Menendez was one of the most important hurdles in front of the military sale to Türkiye, Erdoğan informed that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will closely follow the developments following the senator’s departure. Fidan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a meeting in New York last week and discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, including the F-16 sale and Türkiye’s prospected ratification of Sweden’s bid to join NATO.

Ankara awaits clear answer from US

“These talks continue but it would be useful to talk with him [Blinken] once again to turn this situation into an opportunity,” Erdoğan said, underlining that Menendez’s departure will bring an advantage.

“Now, we are waiting for a clear answer from the U.S. We hope that we will get the expected positive outcome without further delay,” he suggested.

Türkiye demanded to supply 40 new F-16s and 79 modernization kits from the U.S. after it was expelled from the F-35 joint fighter project. The administration has already notified the U.S. Congress about the modernization kits but it delayed the process on the F-16s as a group of congressmen rejected to approve the sale if Ankara does not ratify the Swedish accession to NATO.

Both Washington and Ankara deny comments that the two issues are linked to each other. But, Erdoğan, on a question, underlined that the U.S. has already linked the F-16 sale to Türkiye with the Swedish process, but it will be the Turkish parliament who will give the last decision on this very matter.

Parliament has last word on Sweden’s NATO bid

“They tell us to sort it out. Canada is doing the same, the U.S. is doing the same. And we tell them: ‘If you have your congress, we have our parliament.’ We cannot underestimate our parliament,” he stated.

“At the end of the day, the decision on Sweden’s membership to NATO will be given by the Turkish parliament. Our parliament is following all the developments on this issue in detail. It is up to our parliament when and how to decide on this,” Erdoğan said.

The Turkish parliament will convene on Oct. 1 and one of the issues of the legislative agenda will be the ratification of Sweden’s accession to the alliance.

Citing talks between Ankara and Washington on all these issues and the promises given by the latter, Erdoğan said: “Our parliament will keep its words if they [the U.S.] fulfill its promises. Our parliament will take its steps accordingly.”