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| Philip Taylor |
The Biden administration plans to ask Congress to approve a $20bn sale of new F-16 jet fighters to Turkey alongside a separate sale of next-generation F-35 jets to Greece, in one of the largest weapons sales in recent years, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
According to US officials, the arms sale is contingent upon Turkey agreeing to Sweden and Finland's accession to Nato. Turkey has held off on agreeing to their joining the alliance over what it claims is their support for Kurdish militants, and Sweden last week said it cannot fulfill all of Turkey's demands, Middle East Eye said.
Next week Congress is expected to be notified of the deal at the same time Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visits Washington.
The sale to Turkey is larger than expected. Turkey would receive 40 new aircraft and kits to modernise 79 of its existing F-16 fleet, according to unnamed officials cited by the WSJ, in addition to 900 air-to-air missiles and 800 bombs.
Congress will receive notification of the sale at the same time it is notified of a separate sale of at least 30 new F-35 fighter jets to Greece. The Greek government requested the sale in June 2022.
While officials told the WSJ the timing of the sales was a coincidence, the deals underscore how the Biden administration has tried to juggle between two key Nato allies in the Eastern Mediterranean amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Source Panorama.am
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