Following the condemnation of Turkish overflights by Congress, her Secretary of State TurkeyMevlut Cavusoglu preferred to focus on the fact that the amendments containing the terms of the sale of F-16s by Washington to Ankara were excluded from the US budget bill.

Of course, they will remind you that these amendments were initially only an additional tool, and Senator Robert Menendez still retains veto power as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and thus is still considered the politician who holds the keys to the F-16.

Cavusoglu’s statement reads: “I have reported, as well as our Ministry of National Defense and the relevant committee, that negotiations at the technical levels on the F-16 issue continue in a constructive manner.

“Technical negotiations on the F-16 continue in a constructive manner. We saw in statements that the US government is positive about the F-16, the same thing Biden said at his last meeting with our president. Of course, the role of Congress is important here. We welcome the final text. This thing must end. The law must be passed. It will be beneficial for everyone. We have said before that it makes no sense to buy them under certain conditions,” the Turkish Foreign Minister said in joint statements with his Moldovan counterpart.

#Janly
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova Nicu Popescu and the press conference of the Partnership#Live
Joint press conference with Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu

Istanbul https://t.co/BD7ubTVUA9

— Mevlut Cavusoglu (@MevlutCavusoglu) December 7, 2022

What were the conditions for the F-16

It is recalled that with the amendments made by the Greek-American parliamentarians, the sale of defense equipment and weapons systems to members of the North Atlantic Alliance was linked to a violation of the sovereignty of other allied countries.

Among other things, the following conditions were provided for the sale of F-16 aircraft, upgrade kits and upgraded technologies to Turkey: Congress must obtain confirmation from President Biden that Ankara did not violate the sovereignty of Greece, in particular through overflights or violations of the Athens RIH. In addition, the US cannot sell arms to a NATO member that has repeatedly violated the airspace, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of another NATO member, unless Congress receives confirmation from the Biden administration that he is no longer involved — and he has not participated in the last six months in such activities.

What does the explanatory note say?

Yesterday, an agreement was reached between the Senate and the House of Representatives on the so-called National Defense Appropriations Act, that is, the plan for the US defense budget. From explanatory note to this planit turns out that indeed “the agreement does not include” the above conditions.

The House text included an amendment by Chris Pope that would have prohibited the U.S. President from selling or allowing the export of new F-16 aircraft, retrofit technologies, or retrofit kits to Turkey unless the president provided certain certifications. It further notes that the Senate text does not contain a similar amendment and therefore the final text does not contain such a provision.

It is noted that after the approval of the bill on defense spending, it will now have to be voted by Congress, that is, both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Congressional message against the relay

In any case, however, there is also a message in the accompanying defense budget text (NDAA) against Turkish overflights of the Greek islands.

“We believe that NATO allies should not make unauthorized flights into the airspace of other NATO allies,” US lawmakers note in an accompanying explanatory text to the House and Senate Defense Committees.

Anadolu article

Earlier today, after announcing that he had the final draft of the US defense budget in his possession, This was reported by the Turkish agency Anadolu. that the controversial amendments setting the terms for the sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey were excluded from the final bill.

A conference committee composed of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate has completed work on the draft National Defense Appropriations Act (NDAA), which includes the 2023 defense budget.

“According to the final version of the draft text received by the Anadolu agency, which will be voted on by both houses of Congress, the amendments made by the group of representatives have been excluded from the bill.”

“The move comes after the Senate removed two amendments from Democratic Senators Bob Menendez and Chris Van Hollen from the annual U.S. defense spending bill that would tie the sale of F-16s to Turkey with certain conditions.”

“The amendments were intended to impose a number of restrictions on the sale of F-16s and upgrade kits to Turkey, including a ban on the use of fighter jets to violate Greek airspace and a requirement for the Biden administration to confirm that the sale would be in the national interest.”

“Turkish diplomatic efforts in Washington are said to have been effective in bringing changes to the Senate.”

“For the F-16 sale to take place, Congress must not object to the administration’s proposed sale notice.”

“After the Senate votes on the NDAA, it will become a joint text with an earlier version that was passed in the House of Representatives before being sent to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.”