President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday said Türkiye is awaiting the next move from the United States on Ankara's request to buy F-16 fighter jets after formally approving Sweden's NATO membership.
The remarks came a day after Erdoğan signed off on the Turkish Parliament's earlier ratification of the Nordic country's bid, in a move Ankara hopes will clear the way to its purchase of 40 new F-16 warplanes as well as kits to modernize its existing fleet.
U.S. administration officials have said they expect relatively quick action on the F-16 sale after Türkiye's approval.
Shortly after the Turkish Parliament's vote, U.S. President Joe Biden sent a letter to leaders of key Capitol Hill committees to inform them of his intention to begin the formal notification process for the F-16 sale once Ankara completes Sweden's NATO accession process.
Biden urged Congress to approve the sale "without delay."
U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Jeff Flake told Reuters on Thursday that he expected Washington to take rapid steps toward Congress' endorsement of the sale.
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul on Friday, Erdoğan cited Biden's letter and expressed expectations for a positive outcome.
"We are waiting for this. The outcome from there will hopefully facilitate the process of sending F-16s to Türkiye," Erdoğan said.
He stated that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was working in close coordination with his U.S. counterpart Anthony Blinken on the matter.
Biden and his administration have repeatedly backed Ankara's desire to purchase the fighter jets. But the process stalled in the Congress, where some key members tied the $20 billion (TL 605 billion) deal's approval to Türkiye's backing of Sweden's NATO bid.
The prolonged process frustrated Ankara and Erdoğan went on to also link Sweden's NATO bid ratification to Türkiye's request to buy fighter jets from the United States.
The Pentagon late on Thursday said the warplanes requested by Ankara were not only crucial for Türkiye but also hold significant importance for NATO.
"As a strategic NATO ally, we want to continue our collaboration with Türkiye to ensure that the Turkish military not only protects its own citizens but also possesses advanced capabilities as a significant member of the NATO alliance," Pentagon spokesperson Major Gen. Patrick Ryder said.
Ryder expressed their anticipation of continuing negotiations and discussions with Congress within the "Foreign Military Sales" process, emphasizing their eagerness to proceed with the work.
Highlighting the belief that the new generation F-16s would provide critical capabilities to the Turkish Air Force, Ryder affirmed the U.S.' support for the modernization efforts of the Turkish military.
Türkiye is expected to send the final instrument of ratification for Sweden's NATO membership to Washington within days, according to a source familiar with the issue.
As per formal NATO rules, the final document in the process – the instrument of ratification – needs to be deposited in the U.S. State Department archives.
Türkiye's request aims to replace the Air Forces Command's aging F-16 fleet in the inventory, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s.
Ankara sought to purchase Lockheed Martin's more advanced F-35 fighter jets, but the U.S. removed it from the multinational program to buy and help develop and build the warplane in 2019 after it acquired S-400 air missile defense systems from Russia.
Amid the prolonged process, Türkiye began discussions to buy Eurofighters, produced by a consortium involving Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.
It announced in November it was in talks with Britain and Spain to buy 40 Eurofighter jets, though Germany has objected to the idea. Türkiye has been urging Germany to align with the NATO spirit.
Ankara has also urged Canada and other NATO allies to lift arms embargoes on Türkiye.
"The steps we have taken have been accurate in demonstrating Türkiye's stance to all Western countries, including Canada and Sweden," Erdoğan said Friday.
"We are continuing our path with the same determination."
