US President Joe Biden sent a letter to leaders of key Capitol Hill committees on Wednesday informing them of his intention to begin the formal notification process for the sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 aircraft to Turkey once Ankara completes Sweden’s NATO accession process, Reuters reported.
In the letter to the top Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, Biden urged Congress to approve the sale "without delay," a US official said.
Earlier on Wednesday the White House sent a letter to members of Congress urging approval of the $20 billion sale of F-16 aircraft and modernization kits to Turkey, four sources familiar with the letter told Reuters.
Turkey's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday, clearing a major hurdle to expanding the Western military alliance.
The sources said the letter was sent on Wednesday, and that the Biden administration has not yet formally notified Congress of plans for the sale.
Turkey's delay in approving the ratification had been a major obstacle to winning congressional approval for the fighter jet deal. US lawmakers had said they were awaiting Turkey's approval of Sweden's NATO membership—including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's signature—before deciding whether to approve the sale.
The US State Department also urged Ankara on Wednesday to formally finalize Sweden's NATO ratification. To do that, Erdogan needs to sign the legislation, which then would be published in Turkey's Official Gazette. The instrument of accession for Sweden also needs to be sent to Washington.
Turkey in October 2021 asked to purchase $20 billion of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.
Sweden and Finland applied to enter NATO after the war started in Ukraine in February 2022. While Finnish membership was sealed last year, Sweden's bid had been held up by Turkey and Hungary.
All NATO members need to approve applications from countries seeking to join the alliance. When Sweden and Finland asked to join, Turkey raised objections over what it said was the two countries' protection of groups it deems terrorists.
