WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has asked congressional leaders to authorize sales of advanced weapons and other equipment for Turkey’s fleet of F-16 jet fighters, U.S. officials said, preparing for a showdown with lawmakers over a proposal to increase the number of aircraft Selling Ankara as it seeks to recalibrate relations with Washington.
The proposed arms sale, sent to congressional leaders last month, underscores how Turkey hopes to use its role as facilitator of Russia-Ukraine peace talks and its support of Ukraine’s military to repair ailing ties with Washington and sustain new ones Weapons. The potential deal would include missiles, radar and electronics for Turkey’s F-16s, which would represent a significant upgrade for the country’s jet fighters.
Turkey has hosted two rounds of talks between Kyiv and Moscow, while simultaneously supplying Ukraine with armed drones and blocking some Russian warships from entering the Black Sea. These moves have led to a warming of relations with Washington and more frequent contacts with US officials.
U.S. officials familiar with the request said the administration could use the missile deal to gauge the level of support in Congress for a separate proposal to sell 40 new F-16s to Turkey, an ally of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has angered some officials in Washington over its ties to Russia.
US and Turkish officials support the F-16 deal, arguing that it could help mend the US-Turkish defense relationship, which frayed after Ankara decided to buy a Russian air defense system in 2017. Some US lawmakers, including senior Democrats in both houses of Congress, oppose the sale, citing objections to Ankara’s ties to Russia and human rights concerns in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue of F-16 sales earlier this year.
Photo: adem altan/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
The sale of AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, AIM-120 Amraam missiles along with radar and other equipment would cost Turkey more than $400 million, an official familiar with the proposal said. The government made the request through an informal notice to key leaders in both houses of Congress. If congressional leaders approve the sale, the law requires the administration to send formal notice of the deal.
The State Department “does not publicly confirm or comment on proposed defense transfers until they have been formally notified to Congress,” a spokesman said. Turkey’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The government is expected to send a separate request to Congress later this year regarding the sale of a new F-16 fleet along with upgrades to Turkey’s existing aircraft, following a request from Ankara last year .
Turkish and American officials have argued the F-16 sale could help defuse years of tension between the two allies and prevent Turkey from pushing closer to Russia and China.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved the purchase of Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft system in 2017, triggering US sanctions that resulted in Ankara being banned from the advanced F-35 fighter jet program. The incident deepened distrust between Ankara and Washington, where officials are also at odds over US support for Kurdish militants fighting Islamic State in Syria and Turkey’s crackdown on political opponents.
A Russian airlifter carrying the first batch of equipment for an S-400 missile defense system in Ankara, Turkey, in 2019.
Photo: Turkish Ministry of Defense/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Turkish officials hope to benefit from the country’s improved international standing stemming from Ankara’s role in the crisis surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkey has facilitated peace talks while also supplying Ukraine with armed drones that have helped repel invading Russian forces.
Turkish and American officials have been in more frequent contact since the war began, and the two countries also resumed their dormant channel of “strategic dialogue” in a sign of warming ties.
Mr Erdogan raised the issue of the F-16 sale in a phone call with President Biden in March as the two discussed the Ukraine crisis following a round of Russian-Ukrainian talks in Turkey.
Mr Erdogan said Ankara “expects its request from the US to procure 40 new aircraft and modernize the existing F-16s to be completed as soon as possible,” according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.
The main obstacle to the sale lies in Congress, where lawmakers from both parties have objected to the F-16 deal. Members of the House of Representatives from the pro-Greek Hellenic faction wrote letters to Foreign Minister Antony Blinken last year protesting the deal, citing Ankara’s Russian arms purchases and Turkey’s dispute with Greece over Mediterranean sea borders.
In the Senate, Sen. Bob Menendez (D., NJ), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized Mr Erdogan’s approval of the S-400 purchase and a recent Turkish court ruling jailing a prominent critic of the government. A spokesman for Mr. Menendez did not respond to a request for comment on the proposed sale of missiles and F-16s.
“Turkey is a key NATO ally and as such I am open to allowing them to purchase the F16, but it will take significant convincing. I’m not ready yet,” said Senator Jim Risch, the senior Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.
“There’s a reluctance in Congress towards Turkey because of Ukraine and Afghanistan, but I’m not sure if they have any military sales on board yet,” said Merve Tahiroglu, program coordinator for Turkey at Project on Middle East Democracy, a think tank in Washington.
After months of being silent about the F-16 sale, the Biden administration has begun quietly lobbying for the deal. The State Department said selling F-16s to Turkey was in the US interest to maintain unity and military capabilities within NATO, said a letter sent to Congress in March and first reported by Reuters .
The newly appointed US Ambassador to Turkey, former US Senator Jeff Flake, has also spoken out in favor of the sale with his former congressional colleagues, according to the information obtained from the talks.
Whether the deal is finally approved could depend on the administration’s willingness to pressure Congress over the matter, analysts say.
“It depends on the enthusiasm within the government to spend capital on Turkey,” said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkey research program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank.
– Brett Forrest contributed to this article.
write to Jared Malsin at [email protected]
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