Article authors:
Reuters
Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal
Madrid — Thursday's US President Joe Byden said he is confident that the United States is supporting the sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey. You can get the parliamentary approval required for the sale that you said you have.
At a press conference in Madrid at the end of the NATO Summit, he rejected a proposal to support the sale of Washington in return for Turkey to unblock NATO membership in Sweden and Finland. ..
"I said in December, I remember, you need to sell the F-16 jets and modernize those jets," he said. Told. "It's not in our interest to not do that."
"And so there was no quid proquare. I should have sold it, but It needs parliamentary approval to make it happen, and I think we can get it. "
Turkey went to the United States in October, Rocky Do Martin's F-16. Requested to buy 40 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for existing fighters.
After Ankara acquired a Russian-made defense missile system, sentiment towards Turkey in the U.S. Parliament has worsened over the past few years, from U.S. sanctions and Turkey's F-35 fighter jet program. Caused withdrawal.
On Wednesday, Biden's senior executive also publicly expressed support for the sale. Celeste Warander, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Pentagon's International Security Issues, told reporters that strong Turkish defense capabilities would enhance NATO's defenses. (Report by Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal, Additional Report by Doina Chiacu, Written by Trevor Hunnicutt, Edited by Mark Porter and Jonathan Oatis)
