WASHINGTON, Oct.27 (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers have called on the Biden administration not to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and said they have assurances Congress will block all exports of this kind.
In a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 11 members of the House of Representatives expressed “deep concern” over announcements that Turkey may acquire 40 manufactured F-16 fighter jets. by the Lockheed Martin Group, as well as nearly 80 modernization kits for its current fighter jets.
Reuters was able to consult this letter dated October 25 on Tuesday.
“After President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan’s announcement in September that Turkey will purchase additional Russian S-400 missile defense systems, we cannot afford to compromise our national security by sending manufactured planes to states – United with an ally of the treaty which continues to behave like an adversary “, wrote the parliamentarians.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A State Department spokesperson said the department does not comment on Congressional correspondence.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this month that the United States had offered to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in exchange for its investment in the F-35 program, from which Ankara had been withdrawn after it bought missile defense systems from Russia.
(Report Patricia Zengerle; French version Camille Raynaud)
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