President of the U.S.A Joe Biden called my Turkish colleague today Recep Tayyip Erdogan to congratulate him on his re-election.

During the telephone conversation, Erdogan raised the issue of acquiring American F-16 fighters, and Biden, for his part, asked Ankara to remove the obstacles it creates for Sweden’s entry into NATO.

“I talked to Erdogan, congratulated him. He still wants to find a solution for the F-16. I told him that we need a solution for Sweden…,” the US President told reporters before leaving the White House for Delaware. “We will say more next week,” he added.

Turkey tried to buy $20 billion worth of F-16 fighter jets from the US. However, the sale was delayed due to objections from the US Congress, mainly due to Ankara’s stance on NATO expansion.

A much smaller $259 million package, which included a software update for Turkey’s existing fleet of F-16 fighter jets, was approved by the US Congress earlier this year, days after Turkey ratified Finland’s NATO membership.

The Biden administration has repeatedly rejected any claims of any “compromise” between the sale and NATO expansion, although Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in January that the American side had made it clear that approval of NATO’s proposals would be welcomed by Congress. .

A bipartisan group of senators in a letter to Biden said Turkey’s failure to ratify the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland “casts doubt on the upcoming sale,” referring to the F-16.

Turkey ratified Finland’s NATO membership in late March, but continued to oppose Sweden’s membership, alleging that members of organizations it considers terrorists are hiding in Stockholm. Hungary also has not yet approved Sweden’s candidacy.

Sweden’s entry into NATO by mid-July, when the alliance is due to hold a summit of its leaders in Lithuania, is one of Washington’s top priorities.

According to Reuters