Celeste Wallander, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, said the United States “fully supports” Turkey’s plans to modernize its F-16 fleet in comments representing Washington’s strongest public support for the request since it was submitted by Ankara last October. As relations between the two countries are strained, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had accused the US of “stagnation tactics”. US officials say Washington has offered nothing to Turkey to secure Ankara’s support for Sweden and push for Finland to join the Western defense alliance, but said public approval seems to be helping the atmosphere. However, any F-16 sale would have to be approved by Congress at a time when there is deep frustration in the Capitol with Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian leadership. Wallander said a sale “should be done through procurement procedures”. He added: “The United States supports the modernization of its fighter fleet by Turkey because it contributes to NATO security and therefore to American security.” In February, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 50 US lawmakers led by Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone of New Jersey sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urging them to reject the Turkish Ankara had ignored the request. commitments to the US and NATO and because the Erdogan government continues to commit “enormous human rights violations”. US President Joe Biden played a key role in intense diplomacy ahead of the NATO summit in Madrid on Tuesday, where Turkey withdrew its objections to allowing Sweden and Finland to join NATO. Biden spoke by telephone with Erdogan ahead of the Turkish president’s meeting with the leaders of Sweden and Finland. At that meeting, the three nations reached an agreement aimed at addressing Ankara ‘s concerns about their counter – terrorism commitments. Biden also met on the sidelines of the rally with his Turkish counterpart, who has long sought a private meeting. Biden singled out Erdogan’s efforts to help Sweden and Finland join NATO and try to extract grain from Ukraine, where Russia is blocking the Black Sea. “You are doing a great job,” Biden told Erdogan at the start of their meeting. Neither of them mentioned the F-16s. Erdogan said he was pushing for diplomatic efforts to get grain out of Ukraine. “There are countries that lack grain and we will open corridors and allow them access to the grain they so desperately need,” he said.

Ties between Washington and Ankara have been strained in recent years, with disagreements over US support for Kurdish militias in Syria and Ankara’s ties with Moscow. The United States has removed Turkey from its advanced F-35 fighter jet program and imposed sanctions on its defense industry after Erdogan bought a Russian-made S-400 anti-missile defense system, which US officials said posed a threat to the aircraft. Faced with an aviation crisis, Turkey has asked the United States to approve a request to purchase 40 new Lockheed Martin F-16s, as well as upgrade kits to upgrade about 80 of its existing aircraft. U.S. officials said Wednesday that both issues would be difficult for Congress to pass, but that the request for a modernization kit is far from over. Analysts and diplomats say Moscow’s war in Ukraine has given a new impetus to the western capitals to improve their troubled ties with Turkey, a NATO member strategically located on the Black Sea. Ankara has supplied Kyiv with armed unmanned aircraft and has also restricted Russian military access to airspace and waterways connecting the Mediterranean with the Black Sea. “One of the consequences not only of this summit but of the whole crisis is that it is forcing the US to look strategically at the Black Sea region, which will include re-establishing relations with Turkey,” said Ben Hodges, the former governor. of the USA. army in Europe. He added: “Whether or not to provide aircraft makes more sense when there is a solid, integrated strategy for the region.”