Turkey cautiously optimistic as US drops conditions for F-16 sales
Turkey's foreign minister has urged the swift finalization of the much-awaited sale, while Greek news outlets maintain the final text carried a warning to Turkey against violating Greek airspace.
Ankara welcomed on Wednesday the final text of the US defense budget that excludes conditions on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, saying the swift finalization of the sale would be “in everyone’s interest.”
“We knew before [the bill's text became public Tuesday] that the two [conditions attached to the sale] were removed from the final text,” Cavusoglu said at a press conference with his Moldovan counterpart Nicu Popescu in Istanbul. “What is important now is to finalize the process as soon as possible … which will be in everyone’s interests.”
The newly minted 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, released late Tuesday, is expected to be voted on first by the House of Representatives later this week and then by the Senate, perhaps next week. It will become law after President Joe Biden signs it. Ankara has kept its eyes on the text for months to ensure that it will not contain any congressional hurdles to its request to purchase 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for Turkey’s existing warplanes.
Cavusoglu said that US President Joe Biden expressed his administration’s support for the sale to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when the two briefly met in Bali. “Of course, the role of Congress is important as well. So it is good that the text that would be submitted to vote includes no conditions on the sale,” he said, adding that its swift finalization is in the interests of all the parties, including NATO.
