US to lift ban on sale of F-16 jets to Turkiye as Sweden's NATO bid accepted

Washington will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye in consultation with Congress, US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Tuesday, a day after Ankara gave the green light for Sweden to join NATO, Reuters reports.

According to the report, Turkiye, which had been the main stumbling block on Sweden’s path towards the alliance, had requested in October 2021 to buy $20 billion of Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernisation kits for its existing warplanes.

Speaking ahead of a summit of NATO leaders that started on Tuesday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, Sullivan said US President Joe Biden “had been clear that he supports the transfer”.

“He has placed no caveats on this … He intends to move forward with that transfer,” Sullivan told reporters, without giving any details on the timing.

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Bob Menendez, a Democrat who had blocked the transfer, said on Monday he is in talks with the Biden administration about his hold and that he could decide “in the next week”, suggesting he could lift it.

READ: NATO allies welcome agreement between Turkiye, Sweden: Vilnius summit communiqué