The fact is that the Minister of Foreign Affairs Anthony Blinken assured the Senate that the Biden administration is not going to override the veto (congressional hold) on Turkish F-16s said the senator Robert Menendez. The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee made the revelation, referring to a daily conversation he had with the US Secretary of State while speaking at the 38th Annual Conference of the International Coordinating Committee for the Fight for Cyprus (ICRC) in Washington.

Referring to a conversation he had with Anthony Blinken, Senator Menendez said: “I asked Secretary Blinken directly about this because he met with the Turkish foreign minister a few months ago. I asked him both before and after the meeting: “Will you override the objections of the Senate against the sale of Turkey and especially the F-16?” And he answered me without hesitation: “As I told the Turkish Foreign Minister, I will tell you the same. I have no intention of overriding your objections to arms sales.” And although Cavusoglu pressed him in response: “If you agree to this sale to us, why don’t you circumvent his objections?” Blinken replied: “I won’t.”

Elsewhere in his speech, Senator Menendez explained that, technically, the government could override the legislators’ veto. However, this would be contrary to longstanding tradition, as the White House has only once overruled the will of Congress for a particular sale.

In any case, Senator Menendez expressed satisfaction with the response and the assurances given to him by the Biden administration. However, he warned that even in the opposite case, he would still have tools that he would not hesitate to use.

“I expected this to be a response from the (MFA), but I made it clear that I was glad to hear this response. Of course I have other tools just in case, but I don’t think I will need them and I don’t expect any conflicts in that regard. It would be stupid for the government to do this,” the senator stressed.

Source: APE/MEB