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President Joe Biden's administration is making the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey conditional on the ratification of Sweden's NATO membership. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that this is a serious concern for Turkey.
During a press conference after the G20 meeting in India, Mr. Erdogan said that he had spoken with President Biden regarding the purchase of F-16 aircraft from Turkey. He said that Mr. Biden had linked the purchase of fighter jets to Ankara's green light for Sweden's NATO membership. "This approach seriously worries us," he said.
Turkey, the main obstacle to Sweden's NATO membership efforts, has requested in 2021 the purchase of aircraft and other combat equipment totaling about 100 billion dollars.
After months of opposition, Mr. Erdogan agreed during a NATO meeting in July to send Sweden's request to the Turkish parliament for consideration.
A day later, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington, in consultation with Congress, would proceed with the transfer of F-16s to Turkey.
However, it is not clear when the agreement for Sweden will be reviewed in the Turkish parliament and when the sale of the planes will be carried out.
Ankara has accused Sweden of harboring militants opposed to the Turkish government, mainly members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
President Erdogan also said Sweden must "keep its promises" and take more steps, including extraditing suspected PKK militants and preventing pro-PKK rallies in Sweden, before Ankara considers membership. of Sweden in NATO./VOA
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