Biden Urges Congress to Quickly Approve F-16 Sale to Turkey

Facts

• Following the Turkish Parliament's vote to allow Sweden into NATO on Tuesday, US Pres. Joe Biden on Wednesday wrote a letter to the top Democrats and Republicans of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee urging them to approve the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.¹
• The NATO accession approval, which Turkey delayed for 20 months, must now be signed by Turkish Pres. Tayyip Erdogan and be published in the country's Official Gazette. Washington must then be sent the instrument of accession, and US ambassador to Turkey, former Republican Senator Jeff Flake, said 'Yes' when asked if this process would be completed 'within days.'²
• The sale of the Raytheon-made F-16s, which includes modernization kits and is valued at $20B, has been one of Turkey's criteria for whether it would vote to bring Sweden into NATO. While the Biden administration has previously supported selling Ankara the aircraft, some members of Congress have said they wouldn't approve it until Turkey let Sweden join the military alliance.³
• The US Dept. of State first told Congress about its intention to sell the F-16s over a year ago, but, alongside demands over Sweden's accession, some lawmakers also questioned whether Turkey would use the aircraft to conduct airstrikes against the US-allied Kurdish militias in Syria. Ankara has designated the militias a terrorist group while the US fights with them against the Islamic State group.¹
• Turkey, meanwhile, has sought to replace its old fleet of F-16s as it phases them out over the next decade. Ankara originally wanted Lockheed Martin's more advanced F-35 fighter jets, but the US took Turkey out of its multinational program in 2019 after it acquired S-400 missile defense systems from Russia. Turkey has since also sought to buy F-16s from the UK, Germany, Spain, and Italy.³
• This comes as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson agreed to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to discuss how to get Sweden into NATO. As Turkey is set to vote in favor of accession, Hungary's Speaker of Parliament Laszlo Kover has said he feels no 'particular urgency' to push Sweden into the 31-nation bloc.⁴

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²Reuters.com, ³Daily Sabah and ⁴Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by United States Department of State. The US State Department has been prepared to send Turkey the fighter jets it needs as Ankara has worked to fulfill its end of the bargain. While Hungary is still slightly further behind in its voting process, America must fulfill its promise to Ankara in return for geostrategic cooperation. NATO consists of partners, which is why Washington is cooperating with Turkey and respecting the processes of other member states.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Thehill.com. Even in the eyes of the Washington establishment, sending Turkey billions of dollars worth of weapons is not helping America's cause. While Turkey is justified in questioning Israel's recent actions and bringing Finland and Sweden into NATO, it has also been a safe haven for Hamas and the Islamic State group as well as hints of Russian collaboration. If Washington thinks sending weapons to Turkey gives the US leverage, it's sorely mistaken.

Predictions