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Biden administration signals support for Türkiye’s F-16 demand

30 June 2022 17:35 (UTC +04:00)

U.S. President Joe Biden said he told his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan, that Washington should sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey but that doing so requires congressional approval, APA reports citing the National Post.

Biden told reporters at a news conference during the NATO summit in Madrid that he believes Congress will approve the F-16 sale.

President Erdoğan expressed Türkiye’s demand for F-16 modernization and new fighter jets and Biden gave a solid signal to meet the demand, daily HaberTürk reported quoting anonymous sources.

“As soon as I land in Washington, I will work to resolve the F-16 issue and make an effort to get it passed by Congress,” Biden reportedly told Erdoğan. Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official expressed strong backing for Türkiye’s wish to upgrade its air force with new F-16 fighter planes and improvements to its existing older fleet.