US F - 16 deal worth $20 billion to Turkey lands in trouble
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed his displeasure on Sunday regarding the U.S. President Joe Biden's administration's decision to condition the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey on Turkish approval of Sweden's NATO membership bid. Erdogan shared this information during a press conference held after a G20 summit in New Delhi.
He revealed that during the summit, he had a sideline discussion with President Biden, where the connection between F-16 supply and Sweden's NATO ratification was discussed.
Erdogan expressed his strong dissatisfaction with this approach, which had caused significant tension.
This situation emerged after Turkey initially posed obstacles to Sweden's NATO membership but later agreed to submit the matter to the Turkish parliament for ratification during a NATO summit in July. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan indicated that the F-16 transfer to Turkey would proceed in consultation with Congress, but the exact timing of both events remained uncertain
