F-16 statement from Çavuşoğlu

Following his meeting with his US counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated that they were expecting Congress to approve the F-16 sale. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who met with his US counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in the US capital as part of the Turkey-US Strategic Mechanism II Ministerial Meeting, held a press conference with members of the Turkish press in Washington following the meeting. Stating that they also discussed Turkey’s F-16 modernization kit and request to purchase new F-16s in detail with Blinken, Çavuşoğlu said, “We are saying that Turkey’s F-16 request and Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO memberships are not related and that the US Congress should not portray these as related.” Stating that the US Congress’s opposition to the F-16 could be overcome if the US administration stood firm, Çavuşoğlu stated that since Turkey is a valuable NATO partner, congressional approval would be logical. Different voices are heard in Congress Although US President Joe Biden wants the sale of F-16s to Turkey to move forward, there are voices in the US Congress to block the sale. Senator Bob Menendez recently stated that they will block the sale without the release of political prisoners and improvements in human rights in Turkey. Assessing the Çavuşoğlu-Blinken meeting, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price accepted the objections of the members of Congress and stated that they will continue to be in contact with Turkey and drew attention to Turkey’s “constructive” mediation role between Russia and Ukraine.