The Joe Biden administration has approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
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This comes after the Turkish parliament this week ratified Sweden’s admission to NATO.
The State Department on the evening of January 26 informed the US Congress that it had approved the sale of aircraft worth $23 billion, as well as the accompanying sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Greece in the amount of $8.6 billion. Congress must vote on this issue.
The agreement with Turkey includes 40 new F-16s and equipment to upgrade the country’s 79 F-16 aircraft.
Turkey has long sought to upgrade its F-16 fleet and has made ratification of Sweden’s membership contingent on approval of sales of the new aircraft, the Associated Press writes. The Biden administration supported the sale, but several US lawmakers expressed concerns about human rights in Turkey, the agency noted.
Sweden’s official entry into NATO now depends on Hungary, which is the last NATO country not yet to approve its accession. Sweden and Finland decided to join NATO after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.