Goal of a US senator is to thwart USD20B NATO member contrac…

(MENAFN) Plans by the administration of President Joe Biden to authorize a USD20 billion sale of F-16 fighter fighters to Turkey have run into a major barrier after a senior senator promised to obstruct the agreement because he views Ankara as an unreliable NATO ally.

Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from Additional Jersey, issued a statement on Friday saying, “I strongly oppose the Biden administration’s proposed sale of new F-16 aircraft to Türkiye.” He charged Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, with violating human rights, weakening international law, and acting in a way that was “alarming and destabilizing behavior in Turkey and against neighboring NATO allies.”

After the United States State Department apparently informed pertinent congressional committees of its decision to move through with the F-16 sale on Thursday, Menendez reportedly went out to reiterate his opposition to the arms transaction. In October 2021, Turkey made a request for the aircraft, noting that it intended to update its current fleet by purchasing 80 modernization kits and 40 brand-new F-16s.

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