A $23 million deal between Turkey and the United States for the purchase of F-16 fighter jets has been given the green light by Washington, the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Defense Ministry sources as saying on Thursday.
“The contracts have been signed, and work on the details is ongoing through discussions between the respective delegations. Details will be shared with the public after decisions are made,” Anadolu quoted the unnamed ministry official as saying following a weekly press briefing held in Ankara by the ministry spokesman Zeki Akturk.
Last week, the US State Department confirmed that Turkey had signed a letter of offer and acceptance for the purchase of 40 F-16 Block 70 jets. The deal includes 80 modernization kits.
“The sale is an investment in NATO interoperability and will support the national security interests of the United States, Turkey and the NATO Alliance,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Lengthy negotiations between US and Turkey over F-16
Turkey initially sought to purchase the F-16 jets and kits to modernize existing aircraft in October 2021. The lengthy negotiations were primarily due to objections from the US Congress.
However, in late February the Senate overwhelmingly voted 13-79 against a resolution that would have blocked a $23 billion F-16 sale to Turkey that the Biden administration approved last month.
The State Department finally approved the sale when Turkey ratified Sweden’s NATO membership after stalling for more than a year.
Earlier President Biden sent a letter to four senior members of Congress on Wednesday urging them to quickly approve a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, following the vote by Turkey’s Parliament to allow Sweden to join NATO.
“A deal’s a deal,” said Idaho’s Jim Risch, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
US F-35 fighter jets for Greece
The US expelled Turkey from the F-35 co-production program in 2019 over Ankara’s purchase of the S-400 missile defense system due to fears Moscow could use its advanced radar system to spy on the stealth fighter jets.
The State Department also approved an $8.6 billion sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Greece while greenlit Turkey’s F-16 purchase.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a video statement that, as part of the deal, the Greek state will also receive significant military aid at no extra cost. This would include frigates, C-130 transport aircraft, armored tanks, and vehicles.
“This is the result of a methodical, quiet and long effort, which combined Greece’s consistency as an ally on the international fronts with the promotion of its national interests,” said the Greek PM. “A result which consolidates, at the same time, the dynamic and independent Greek-American strategic relationship.”
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