US says fighter jet sale to Turkey ‘in the works’ — RT World News

The US governing administration supports Turkey’s initiatives to modernize its air power and could shortly approve the sale of dozens of F-16 fighter jets, a senior Pentagon official stated, although famous that any deal even now have to be finalized.

Talking to reporters throughout a remote press briefing on Wednesday, Assistant Secretary for Protection for International Safety Affairs Celeste Wallander said the long-stalled sale might shortly go ahead, months right after Ankara questioned to order 40 Lockheed Martin-designed F-16s and around 80 update kits for its present fleet.

“These strategies are in the works” but nevertheless will need to make their way via “contracting processes,” she claimed, adding that Washington is in favor of “Turkey’s modernization of its fighter fleet simply because that is a contribution to NATO stability and consequently American protection.”

Turkey’s request for the planes very last Oct adopted a heated dispute about the US’ latest fighter jet, the F-35, which Ankara aided to establish in a multinational procurement initiative. Even though it experienced already spent some $1.4 billion on the plane, Turkey’s decision to obtain Russian-manufactured S-400 air defense units in 2017 prompted a severe response from Washington, which booted Ankara from the F-35 program and even put sanctions on some officers associated in the S-400 sale.

The deal for F-16s and modernization kits was floated as a way for the United States to compensate its NATO ally, which has extensive managed its personal fleet of the older jets, however right until Wednesday US officials had said minor about the progress of the arrangement. 

In a exceptional official statement on the difficulty final March, the Point out Office explained to lawmakers these a sale would be in line with US plan targets, arguing that Turkey is “an crucial deterrent to malign impact in the region.” It fell short of an explicit endorsement for any F-16 sale, however. 

While Wallander’s opinions comply with stories that US lawmakers pressured the White Dwelling to destroy the weapons deal if Turkey blocked the accession of Finland and Sweden into the NATO bloc, a senior administration formal denied any quid professional quo. 

“The US did not present nearly anything to Turkey and was not requested for something by Turkey” in relation to NATO enlargement, the official claimed, introducing that talks for F-16s were being ongoing but would require closing approval from Congress.

Ankara at first opposed NATO purposes from the two Nordic states, boasting they retained ties with terrorist groups, but reversed program before this 7 days following talks with officers from all sides. Turkey was the sole member of the alliance to elevate objections, and the deal now in spot will most likely clear the path for Finnish and Swedish membership in the US-led armed service collective.

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