Two conditions on F-16 sales to Türkiye removed from US bill

ANKARA

Two provisions of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill’s U.S. Senate version that were set to restrict F-16 fighter jets’ sale to Türkiye have been dropped, local media has reported.

After the Senate completes the bill, it will be merged into a joint text with the House of Representatives version and submitted to President Joe Biden for approval.

Although the Biden administration endorses the procurement, it still needs a congressional approval.

The two provisions of “F-16s or modernization kits will not be used in repeated violations of Greek airspace” and “their sales will be in the interest of the U.S.” were included in the bill’s Senate version by New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez.

Türkiye made a request to purchase 40 F-16s and modernization kits for 80 warplanes last year.

A Turkish delegation headed by Efkan Ala, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) deputy chair and foreign affairs director, visited Washington to negotiate for the sale of F-16s to Türkiye.

The removal of two conditional clauses from the bill was the result of Türkiye’s diplomatic efforts in the U.S., the officials said.

Both the administration and the congress have two different approaches regarding Türkiye’s purchase of F-16s, Akif Çağatay Kılıç, the head of the Turkish parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said. “Congress approval is required for certain agreements to be made.”

“We faced a generally positive atmosphere in our meetings,” Kılıç added.

“During our exchange of ideas, we had the opportunity to see that many of the issues we put forward were accepted, and Türkiye’s efforts, the closure of the straits with the implementation of the Montreux Agreement and the success we achieved in the grain corridor were appreciated.”

Meanwhile, the Greek daily Skai considered the two provisions’ removal “a serious defeat for the Mitsotakis doctrine.” The decision was a reward for Türkiye, the paper said.

Türkiye was taken out from a program to replace a wide range of fighter, strike and ground attack aircraft for NATO allies over Ankara’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said earlier that “Türkiye may turn to countries such as Russia if the U.S. fails to follow through a pledge to deliver F-16 fighter jets.”