US President Joe Biden held a press conference after the NATO Heads of State and Government Meeting. Biden, who made important statements regarding the agenda at the meeting, also made a last-minute statement regarding the sale of the F-16 to Turkey.
Highlights from Biden’s statements;
NATO MEMBERSHIP OF SWEDEN AND FINLAND
We accepted the candidacy of Finland and Sweden. Sweden and Finland will become NATO members.
Threats come not only from Russia, but also from China. NATO is changing in the same way. At this summit, we regrouped our allies.
RUSSIA AND UKRAINE WAR
Putin thought he could break up NATO, weaken us, but he got exactly what he didn’t want. With the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland, he encountered what he did not expect.
We will not let Ukraine be defeated, we will not let Russia win. The reason for the increase in oil prices and the food crisis is Russia. The war could end even tomorrow if Russia stops acting irrationally.
F-16 SALE TO TURKEY
I said in December that we had to sell the F-16s. We also need to modernize them. My position on this has not changed since December. We have to sell them F-16s, but we need Congressional approval to do so. I think Congress will approve.
We need to sell and modernize F-16 aircraft to Turkey. The opposite is not in our interest. We need to get approval from Congress, and I think we can get that.