Celeste Wallander, Undersecretary of Defense of USAemphasized that the Turkey should take seriously the role it is called upon to play Congress for F-16in case he still wishes to acquire them.
During a hearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Sen Jin Sahin asked how the US administration is dealing with Turkey’s request for F-16s under the weight of new data arising from Ankara’s refusal to support Sweden’s NATO membership. The American secretary of state replied that “at every opportunity the Ministry of Defense raises exactly the same issues with our Turkish allies and reinforces (the message) that in the democratic processes that underpin American foreign policy, Congress plays an important role, and should be taken seriously.”
For her part, Senator Jin Sahin said she will not support the F-16 delivery to Turkey until Ankara ratifies Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership. In addition, he acknowledged that there are other issues related to this particular defense contract.
As he characteristically noted: “I think that several of my colleagues share this concern. I know there are other issues surrounding the F-16, but I just want to put that on the table as one of the concerns I have. I think that Sweden has moved very well to address the concerns that have been discussed with Turkey regarding its NATO membership, and that unfortunately President Erdogan is taking advantage of this issue. He seems to be doing it to serve his own domestic political interests rather than really dealing with what is in the best interests of NATO and the security arrangement we need as we support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.”
Source: News Beast
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