WASHINGTON - Turkey on Wednesday urged the administration of US President Joe Biden to be decisive in its bid to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey and convince the US Congress to drop its opposition to the planned US$20 billion (S$26.5 billion) deal.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Washington he had told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Turkey dropping its objections to Sweden and Finland joining Nato should not be a precondition for the F-16 sale.
“What is important here is whether the administration will be decisive or not... If it displays a strong stance against any steps to prevent this, the issue will be resolved,” Mr Cavusoglu said after meeting Mr Blinken, in comments broadcast by Turkish state TV TRT.
The two Nordic states applied for Nato membership in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but their bids need approval from all 30 Nato member states. Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the applications.
Turkey raised objections, accusing the countries of harbouring groups it deems terrorists. It said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against these groups, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt.
In his meeting with Mr Blinken, Mr Cavusoglu said Ankara’s approval of the Nato bids was not presented as a precondition, but the US side made it clear that it would be viewed positively by Congress.
He added Turkey was not denying that the two countries have taken steps to address Ankara’s security concerns, but there was more they should do and that they knew that.
The high-profile purchase – which Mr Biden has said he wants to go through – has been held up for several reasons. Those include Turkey’s demand for concessions before agreeing to Nato membership for Sweden and Finland, as well as objections from US lawmakers to providing advanced weapons to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has threatened US partners including Greece.
The Biden administration has expressed its support for the sale of the jets to Turkey, despite opposition from Congress over Ankara’s problematic human rights record and Syria policy, as it seeks to keep Nato unity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
ButCongress has been loud in its opposition to the F-16 deal. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations – whose leaders review major foreign military sales – has vowed to block it until Turkey improves its human rights record and releases political prisoners, among other matters.
“The administration should not waste such an important deal between two allies just because one person or a few people are blocking it. It should not bow down,” Mr Cavusoglu said.
Recently, Ankara’s refusal to ratify the Nato membership of Sweden and Finland has become more central to Congress’ opposition.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said in a statement: “(Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan’s... repeated attacks on our Syrian Kurdish allies and continued cosying up to Russia – including delaying Sweden and Finland’s Nato membership – remain serious causes for concern.
“As I’ve said before, for Turkey to receive the F-16s, we need assurances that these concerns will be addressed.”
Ties between the United States and Turkey have been strained since Turkey acquired Russian missile defence systems in 2019.
In a Wednesday briefing, State Department spokesman Ned Price praised what he called Turkey’s “constructive” role in mediating between Russia and Ukraine, while acknowledging that members of Congress have been “quite vocal” about the sale. Turkey has been at the centre of an arrangement permitting continued exports of Ukraine’s grain.
“There are strong opinions on the Hill,” Mr Price said. “So we will continue to engage with our Turkish partners. We will, as appropriate, engage with our partners on the Hill. We want to see to it that Turkey, as a Nato ally, has what it needs to continue to be a valued member of that alliance and to address the very real security concerns that Turkey itself faces.”
Mr Price said the US has its disagreements with Turkey but can discuss them candidly as allies. He said the US remained “deeply concerned” about the “continued judicial harassment of civil society, media, political and business leaders in Turkey, including through prolonged pre-trial detention, overly broad claims of support for terrorism and criminal insult cases.”
While Mr Cavusoglu and Mr Blinken have met numerous times in the past at Nato summits and UN meetings, it took the Biden administration almost two years to officially invite Mr Cavusoglu, a delay that analysts say reflects a strained relationship.
The US has praised Turkey for some of its actions during the Ukraine war, including mediating grain corridor talks, but also worries about Ankara’s deepening relationship with Moscow.
The countries are also at odds over Turkey’s plans for a military operation into Syria and its intent to normalise ties with Damascus. For its part, Turkey demands Washington does not support the Syrian Kurdish armed groups that it sees as terrorists.
Tensions between Turkey and fellow Nato ally Greece over the Aegean Sea have also negatively impacted the sentiment in US Congress towards Ankara.
Last week, the State Department informally notified the committees overseeing arms sales in the US Senate and House of Representatives of its intention to proceed with the sale. But a senior administration official said Washington was unlikely to follow through with it unless Mr Menendez reverses his opposition.
While Congress can block foreign arms sales, it has not previously mustered the two-thirds majorities in both chambers required to overcome a presidential veto.
The US side did not give a date on when it would send the formal notification for the F-16s to Congress, Mr Cavusoglu added. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
