US approves sale of F-16 warplanes to Turkey after Ankara ratified Sweden's NATO bid
World
Turkey will get 40 new F-16s and upgrades to 79 of the jets in its existing fleet
Washington (AFP) - Ending months of negotiations, the US government on Friday approved a $23 billion deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey, after Ankara ratified Sweden's NATO membership, the State Department said.
As required by US law, the State Department notified Congress of the agreement, as well as a separate $8.6 billion sale of 40 F-35s to Greece.
Turkey will get 40 new F-16s and upgrades to 79 of the jets in its existing fleet, the State Department said in a news release.
The United States did not green light the transaction until Turkey's instruments of ratification of Sweden's membership had arrived in Washington, a US official said, highlighting the highly sensitive nature of the negotiations.
All instruments of ratification must be deposited in the US capital -- a city NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will visit next week, and which will host a summit in July to mark the 75th anniversary of the trans-Atlantic alliance.
Turkey's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO membership on Tuesday after more than a year of delays that upset Western efforts to show resolve in the face of Russia's war on Ukraine.
