Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee USA, Bob Menendezsaid yesterday, on Tuesday, that he wants the President of Turkey Tayyip Erdogan take a “less belligerent” attitude towards their allies NATO and her neighbors Türkiye.

“The important thing now is how Erdogan wants to move in the future with Turkey. If he wants to change course from where he was, I expect to see that,” Bob Menendez told reporters after Erdogan won the election.

“If we have the same or more of the same that we saw, then I will still have the same positions as before,” he added.

In October 2021, Turkey, a NATO member, asked Lockheed Martin Corp for $20 billion worth of F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 upgrade kits for its existing aircraft. President Joe Biden’s administration has said it supports the sale and has been contacting Congress for months to get its approval.

Sweden is only “part of the equation”

However, he has faced backlash, especially from Menendez, over a range of issues, including Turkey’s refusal to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership and concerns about prison sentences for journalists, other human rights violations and Turkish overflights of Greek airspace.

“Sweden is only part of the equation. For some participants, this may be the complete equation. Not for me,” Menendez said.

The senator said he hadn’t heard Biden talk about Turkey since the president congratulated Erdogan on the phone. Erdogan confirmed Ankara’s desire to buy F-16s, and Biden told him that Washington wants Ankara to stop opposing Sweden’s NATO membership.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken yesterday, Tuesday, urged Turkey to immediately finalize Sweden’s NATO membership and denied that the Biden administration linked Ankara’s approval of Sweden’s membership to the F-16 sale.

“Deals” for F-16

In the process of informally reviewing major arms deals, the heads of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee may block deals, citing a variety of issues, including human rights concerns.

Menendez said Biden assured him that he would respect his position.

In addition, the White House yesterday, Tuesday, also said that the delivery of F-16s to Turkey will not be made in exchange for Sweden’s entry into NATO.

“This is not a condition,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

President Biden has been making it clear for some time that he supports the sale of F-16 fighter jets, the spokeswoman added.

She argued that the sale of fighter jets to Turkey would facilitate cooperation within the defense alliance.

On Monday evening, Biden gave the impression that the sale of the F-16s to Turkey was tied to approval of Sweden’s latest entry into NATO. “I spoke with Erdogan and congratulated him,” the American president said. “And he still wants us to find a solution for the F-16. I told him that we want to make a deal with Sweden. So let’s do it.”

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters, AFP.}