US President Joe Biden’s administration has agreed to push forward with the controversial sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye, just hours after Ankara stopped standing in the way of Sweden’s membership in NATO.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed the decision on Tuesday, saying Biden would work with Congress to get the arms deal finalized.
“He has placed no caveats or conditions,” Sullivan told reporters at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. “He intends to move forward with that transfer in consultation with Congress.”
A group of US senators threatened to block the aircraft deal in February unless Ankara approved the bid by Sweden and Finland to join the US-led military bloc. Finland became a NATO member in April.