Breaking news: The developments regarding the sale of F-16s by the USA to Turkey are followed closely. Finally, an important statement came from the US Ambassador to Ankara, Jeffry Flake, regarding the sale. He made evaluations about the current state of Turkish-American relations to a group of journalists in Ankara. Stating that Sweden and Finland’s membership process to NATO is not related to the USA’s F-16 sale to Turkey, Flake said, “The Biden administration is behind this sale.” Here are the details of the breaking news…
F-16 SALE TO TURKEY! ‘FINLAND AND SWEDEN HAVE NO CONNECTION WITH THE MEMBERSHIP PROCESS TO NATO’
Recalling that Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his US counterpart Antony Blinken met in Washington yesterday, Flake expressed that they were happy with the high-level talks between the two countries.
Expressing that Blinken thanked Turkey for the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement, Flake said that during the meeting, issues such as the sale of F-16s to Turkey, the Russia-Ukraine war and NATO were also on the agenda.
When asked if there was a link between Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership process, with the US Congress opposing the sale and modernization of the F-16 to Turkey, Flake said: “No. There is no link here. Minister Blinken has made it clear.” gave the answer.
Reminding that US Senator Bob Menendez opposes the sale of F-16s to Turkey, Flake said, “I worked with Senator Menendez both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. He has serious concerns that he has expressed. However, this has nothing to do with Sweden and Finland. But I must say that there is a universal desire for Sweden and Finland to join NATO. So is this Congress.” made its assessment.
“BIDEN MANAGEMENT IS BEHIND THIS SALE”
Pointing out that President Joe Biden’s administration in the USA supports the sale of F-16s to Turkey, Flake said, “Congress is a legislative body and an independent body. This body has to approve the arms sale. Therefore, the administration cannot say, ‘Let’s do it.’ However, the Biden administration He’s behind this sale and is working with Congress on it.” said.
“NO EXACT DATE”
Ambassador Flake said that they do not have a definite date for when the Biden administration will return to Congress regarding the sale of the F-16 to Turkey.
“WE HAVE A PRODUCTIVE DIALOGUE”
On a question about the engagement between Turkey and Syria that started 11 years later, Flake said, “For questions on this subject, I refer you to the Turkish government. The United States is against establishing contact with the regime and normalizing relations.” used the phrase.
Pointing out that the contacts between Turkey and the United States continue in security areas, especially regarding northeast Syria, Flake said, “We are always looking for ways to work with our Turkish allies. They (Turkey) are an important partner in the fight against DAESH. We have some differences. Both we and they express these differences. But we have a productive dialogue.” said. (AA)