ANKARA, Apr 15 Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın said about «accelerating» the deal between Ankara and Washington on the purchase of F-16 fighters after Finland became a member of NATO.
The United States has previously sent an official notice to Turkey about its exclusion from the program for the supply of the latest F-35 fighters due to Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems. The states canceled the joint memorandum on the F-35 with Turkey, signing it with the seven remaining partners in the F-35 project — the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada and Norway. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan subsequently announced a US proposal to buy other fighters, but not the fifth, but the fourth generation — the F-16. This issue is to be agreed in the US Congress — the State Department is lobbying this issue, convincing congressmen that the deal «serves the interests of Washington.»
«The US administration still wants the process to move forward, now it's up to Congress. After the approval of Finland's membership in NATO, the process accelerated. Sweden, after fulfilling our objective requirements, will also join NATO. These issues are important for the security of all members alliance,» Kalın was quoted as saying by the Anadolu news agency.
The US administration believes that Turkey should receive an upgraded version of the American F-16 fighters, as it is important for the defense capability of NATO as a whole, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said earlier. In an interview with the Turkish NTV channel, he also admitted that the United States cannot sell F-16 fighters to Turkey without congressional approval, the legislators' concerns must be addressed. A member of the Council for Security and Foreign Policy under the President of Turkey Chagry Erhan said that Ankara may refuse to purchase F-16s and consider replacement options, including Russian fighters.