US senators send letter to Türkiye

US senators conveyed to US President Joe Biden the condition of NATO approval to Sweden and Finland for the sale of F-16s to Turkey. A group of US senators led by Democrat Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Thom Tillis sent a letter to US President Joe Biden, calling on Turkey to approve Sweden and Finland’s NATO memberships. The bipartisan letter emphasized that Congress should not initiate the sale of F-16s to Turkey if Sweden and Finland’s NATO memberships are not approved. The senators stated that Biden should contact US diplomats and allies to urge Turkey to swiftly approve NATO. “Congress cannot consider future support to Turkey, including the sale of F-16s, until NATO membership approval is given,” the letter read. Shaheen and Tillis co-chair the NATO Monitoring Group in the US Senate. On the other hand, the Ankara ambassadors and representatives of the USA, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, England, Germany, Belgium, France and Italy were summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday regarding the temporary closure of consulates. The statement from the ministry stated that the reactions regarding the issue were conveyed to the ambassadors and it was stated that “It was emphasized that such simultaneous activities do not constitute a proportionate and prudent approach and that such approaches only serve the insidious agendas of terrorist organizations.”