Echoing similar statements by Turkey’s foreign minister, US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake told reporters on Thursday that the US decision on a potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey and Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO bids are “unrelated.”
Speaking to a group of journalists, Ambassador Flake said that his country “always strives for as many high-level contacts as possible between our two countries.”
At the Turkish-US Strategic Mechanism meeting yesterday in Washington between Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Flake said both sides had “resolved a lot of important issues.”
“Apparently, Secretary of State Blinken thanked Foreign Minister Cavusoglu for Turkey’s work with the (Ukrainian) Grain Initiative, for her strong and consistent support for Ukrainian sovereignty, and for the support she has given NATO – (already) 70 years (Turkey has been) important and a valuable contributor,” Flake said.
Regarding the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets and F-16 upgrade kits, the US diplomat reiterated that the process “is currently under multi-level consideration in Congress.” Saying “there is no connection” between the F-16 sale and Sweden’s and Finland’s bids for NATO membership, whose approval from Turkey is pending, Flake added: “The US Congress has invested a lot in this war to help Ukraine. in repelling Russian aggression, both in monetary terms and in the leadership of this coalition. They think it’s very important, but there’s no connection.”
“The desire for Sweden and Finland to join NATO is universal in Congress,” he said.
Flacke went on to say that “there is, I think, a certain number of days that a committee (of Congress) is given to consider this as part of a tiered review process … but those are not exact dates.”
In October, Ankara requested 40 F-16s and upgrade kits from Washington, and the State Department informally notified Congress last week of a possible sale.
Of Turkey’s talks with the Assad regime in Syria, Flake said: “The US remains opposed to establishing and normalizing relations with the Assad regime, given what it has done to its people over the years. We are still against it.”
On security issues related to northern Syria, where Turkish officials have warned of the formation of a “terror corridor” along its border if action is not taken, Flake said talks and dialogue between Turkey and the US are ongoing. Turkey has long spoken out against cooperation with the US. with the YPG/PKK terrorists, one of the terrorist groups that turned the border into a source of violence. They also warned that a Turkish ground offensive might be needed to eliminate the terrorist threat from the YPG/PKK.
