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Biden says he spoke to Erdogan about F-16s, Sweden's NATO bid
CGTN

U.S. President Joe Biden said that in a call on Monday Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan repeated Ankara's desire to buy F-16 fighter jets from the United States, while Biden responded that Washington was keen to see Ankara drop its objection to Sweden's joining NATO.

The exchange took place when Biden called Erdogan to congratulate him on his victory in Türkiye's presidential election on Sunday.

"I spoke to Erdogan. I congratulated Erdogan. He still wants to work out something on the F-16s. I told him we wanted to deal with Sweden, so let's get that done. And so we'll be back in touch with one another," Biden told reporters before departing the White House for Delaware.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan waves as he addresses his supporters following his victory in the second round of the presidential election at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, May 29, 2023. /CFP
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan waves as he addresses his supporters following his victory in the second round of the presidential election at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, May 29, 2023. /CFP

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan waves as he addresses his supporters following his victory in the second round of the presidential election at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, May 29, 2023. /CFP

"We're going to talk more about it next week," he added.

Bids for NATO membership must be approved by all NATO members. Both Türkiye and Hungary have yet to approve Sweden's bid.

Türkiye has sought to buy $20 billion worth of F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits from the United States, but the sale has been stalled due to objections from the U.S. Congress over Ankara's problematic human rights record and Syria policy, even though the Biden administration has repeatedly said it supports the sale.

A much smaller $259 million package including avionics software upgrades for Türkiye's current fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft was cleared by U.S. Congress earlier this year, days after Türkiye ratified Finland's NATO accession.

A file photo shows a U.S. fighter aircraft F-16 performs aerobatic maneuvers on the last day of Aero India 2019 at Yelahanka air base in Bangalore, India, February 24, 2019. /CFP
A file photo shows a U.S. fighter aircraft F-16 performs aerobatic maneuvers on the last day of Aero India 2019 at Yelahanka air base in Bangalore, India, February 24, 2019. /CFP

A file photo shows a U.S. fighter aircraft F-16 performs aerobatic maneuvers on the last day of Aero India 2019 at Yelahanka air base in Bangalore, India, February 24, 2019. /CFP

A source familiar with the discussions said the United States had previously told Türkiye that it would be hard to get Congress to approve the F-16 deal if Ankara doesn't green light Sweden.

Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year, ditching long-held policies of military non-alignment following the Ukraine crisis.

Türkiye ratified Finland's NATO accession in late March, but has continued to object to Sweden, saying Stockholm harbors members of militant groups it considers to be terrorists. Hungary has also not yet approved Sweden's bid.

(With input from agencies)

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