Washington responded to the letter from Turkey sent by the senators to Biden
The accession processes of Sweden and Finland, who want to join NATO after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, continue to generate controversy.
The accession process, which Turkey looks the other way for many reasons, notably the lack of proper cooperation in the fight against terrorism, has taken on a new dimension with protests in Sweden in recent weeks. After supporters of the terrorist organization were allowed to burn the Holy Quran following the demonstration with a mock-up of President Erdogan, far-right politician Rasmus Paludan was allowed to burn the Holy Quran, as tensions rose on the Ankara line -Stockholm, and the echoes of this tension were felt in the US.
Ned Price responded to the question he was asked by recalling what Biden and Erdogan spoke of sitting next to each other in Madrid.
While Turkey’s demand to buy F-16 fighter jets and kits from the US was hotly discussed in Washington, yesterday 27 US Democratic and Republican Senators addressed President Joe Biden, “Until you approve the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO”. ‘t sell F-16 to Turkey” was on the agenda. The senators’ request directly linked the two countries’ NATO membership to the first sale of the F-16s by Congress.
This issue was also addressed at the press conference held yesterday by US State Department spokesman Ned Price… When asked: “Are you in the same position as those who sent this letter? Price gave a full explanation to the question: “Why don’t you send official information to Congress even though the technical negotiations are over?”
“WHAT DID BIDEN SAY SITTING BY ERDOĞAN?”
Price said: “We’ve had a chance to talk about this in recent weeks. But if we go back to the summer months, I would like to recall that Biden, who was sitting next to Erdogan at the NATO Summit in Madrid, said that he supported the sale of the F-16 to Turkey. As a NATO ally, Turkey has legitimate security concerns. We will do our best to fulfill it. In other words, this tells us that we support the sale of the F-16,” he said.
Although he said that the official information on the sale of the F-16 to Congress is not only received by the Executive Branch and there are different decision-making mechanisms, “we told Congress that we support the sale of the F-16. It would be more accurate to say that Congress has made its position on this matter clear, or some senators have made it clear.”
Stating that Turkey is a valuable NATO ally, Price said that Finland and Sweden are also ready to join NATO. Making similar remarks earlier, Price said: “We believe that both countries are ready to join NATO with their advanced military capabilities and advanced democracies.”