at the United States EmbassyturkiyeAmbassador Flake said he expected Turkish President Erdogan to approve it within a few days.swedenBy joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the US Congress will take action to agree to sell F-16 fighter aircraft to Ankara.
Reuters reported that Jeff Flake said in an interview with the media today that once Washington gets permission to join SwedennatoAccording to the official approval document, the State Department will immediately send notice to Congress of the arms sale of F-16 fighter jets worth a total of US$20 billion.
Turkey’s parliament approved Sweden’s application to join NATO on the 23rd, clearing a major hurdle in the Western military alliance’s expansion plans after a 20-month delay.
After this, Tayyip Erdogan must sign the bill and then publish it in the Turkish Government Gazette. Sweden’s official written documents for joining must also be sent to Washington.
“Yes, I think it will be done within a few days,” Flake, a former Republican US senator, told Reuters.
He said, “I think that now that the (Turkish) Congress has taken action, Turkey has no reason to continue waiting. So I hope that once Washington gets Turkey’s formal approval for Sweden’s accession If found, the State Department will issue a (F-16) Arms Sales) notification to Congress.”
He told Reuters by phone that the Turkish president “must first sign the bill and then forward the formal written document of Sweden’s joining to Washington. Once the process is complete, we will send a notification, a formal Expect to issue notification.”
Erdogan and members of the US Congress have linked Turkey’s support for Sweden’s membership in NATO to the US Congress’s approval of the sale of $20 billion of fighter jets and modern equipment to Turkey.
President Biden yesterday sent a letter to the leaders of key committees on Capitol Hill saying he would formally begin the F-16 weapons sale notification process after Ankara completes the process of approving Sweden’s accession.
The Turkish Parliament approved Sweden’s NATO membership on the 23rd. This is a big step for Sweden to become the 32nd member of NATO. Currently, the only NATO member that has not yet ratified is Hungary.
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