Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers urged President Joe Biden’s administration not to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and said they were confident Congress would block any such exports.
In a letter to Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 11 members of the House of Representatives cited "a profound sense of concern" about recent reports that Turkey may purchase 40 new Lockheed Martin F-16s and 80 F-16 modernization kits.
The letter was dated Oct. 25 and reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.
"Following President (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan’s September announcement that Turkey will purchase an additional tranche of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, we cannot afford to compromise our national security by sending U.S.-manufactured aircraft to a treaty ally that continues to behave like an adversary," the lawmakers wrote.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A State Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on correspondence with Congress.
Erdoğan said earlier this month that the U.S. had offered to sell Turkey the F-16s in return for Ankara’s down payment on the more advanced F-35s, which Washington blocked after Turkey bought S-400 missile defense systems from Russia.
Turkey reportedly made a request to the U.S. to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. The deal is potentially worth $6 billion.
Ankara has been requesting a return for the $1.4 billion investment it made in the U.S.-led multinational fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet program, from which it was removed by Washington in 2019 after it acquired the Russia-made defense systems.
Previously, Ankara had ordered more than 100 F-35 jets, made by Lockheed Martin, while its defense industry has been a prominent player in the development and manufacturing of the aircraft.
Erdoğan last week expressed his belief that Turkey and the United States will make progress in talks for the sale of F-16 fighters, and that Ankara will recoup a payment it made for F-35s.
The letter was led by Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis and Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney.
"While we are confident that Congress will stand together to block any such exports should these plans progress, the United States cannot afford to transfer any advanced military equipment to the government of Turkey at this time," the letter said.
The decades-old partnership between the NATO allies has gone through unprecedented tumult in the past five years over disagreements on many issues, including Syria and Ankara’s closer ties with Moscow.
Ankara has said it hopes for better ties under the new U.S. administration, but talks have so far yielded little progress.
Erdoğan is expected to meet with his American counterpart Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Rome this weekend.
Many say the meeting could unlock the standoff over the F-35s or F-16s.
Earlier this month, Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Chairperson Ismail Demir said Turkey could purchase Russia’s Su-35 and Su-57 fighters in the event the U.S. freezes the sale of F-16 fighter jets.
Washington argues that the S-400 air missile systems could be used by Russia to covertly obtain classified details on the F-35 jets and that they are incompatible with NATO systems. Turkey, however, insists that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems and would not pose a threat to the alliance.
Ankara has reiterated on various occasions that its removal from the F-35 program was illegal and unilateral. It has demanded a fair approach and has said that it is open to negotiations with Washington.
The purchase of the S-400s has triggered U.S. sanctions. In December 2020, Washington blacklisted the SSB, its chief Demir and three other employees.
Turkey has been indicating Ankara still intends to buy a second batch of S-400s from Russia, despite opposition from the U.S.