On Thursday, US senators voted against a Republican Rand Paul resolution that sought to block the sale of F-16 fighter jets and other defence equipment to Turkey.
The resolution was rejected by 79 senators, with 13 voting in favour.
On January 26, the US State Department approved a $23 billion sale of F-16 jets and upgrade kits to Turkey after Ankara moved toward Sweden’s NATO membership.
Turkey requested 40 new F-16 Block 70 aircraft from the US in October 2021, as well as 79 upgrade kits to modernise the remaining F-16s to Block 70 levels.
On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasised Turkey’s focus on F-16 warplanes, not F-35s.
We discussed with US senators the steps we will take on the F-16s.
The president also reported that the Turkish government, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, was continuing talks with its US counterparts over the warplanes.
