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USA: Reactions and discussions on the imposition of conditions on the sale of F-16s to Turkey

The immediate reaction of leading American legislators was caused by the announcement that Biden administration prepares to formally ask Congress to approve sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkeywith the co-chairs of the group in Congress on Greek issues, MPs Gus Bilirakis and Chris Papas, as well as MP Nicole Malliotakis, strongly expressing their opposition.

For his part, the senator Robert Menendez signaled once again that he intends to veto it, a right he has as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Also, at this stage, the head of the minority in the International Relations Committee, Jim Rees, and the new chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House, Mike McCall, also have veto power.

Technical talks between Washington and Ankara have been completed and it is now estimated that the State Department will not delay in formally sending the request to the relevant congressional committees, asking them to approve the defense contract. At this stage the request in question must be approved by the Senate International Relations committee. If the F-16 defense contract ultimately fails to pass Congress, that would effectively mean that the case would not move forward at all for a full month, as the process calls for consultations during that time to decide on corrective measures. moves he would like to see Congress make.

From there, the Biden administration will receive the recommendations and suggestions of Congress, which is in a position to set the conditions that, in its own judgment, will improve the defense contract. The White House will then have to present these changes to Turkey in order to consider whether they can be incorporated into the treaty. In the event that Turkey takes a completely negative stance, the president will have the option if he wishes to go back to Congress, this time asking for the approval of a final agreement.

It is noted that in the recent past Donald Trump made this move, as he overrode Congress’s refusal to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia. If President Biden ultimately does something similar, it will certainly be more difficult for Congress to override the White House’s intent in this runoff, as an increased two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate will be required.

In any case, however, political analysts in Washington point out that it will not be politically easy for President Biden to completely override the veto of a foreign relations committee chairman from his own party.

Source: News Beast

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