U.S. President Joe Biden has long been clear in his support for the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye, and Sweden's membership in NATO is not a condition for this, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.
The sale of F-16s to Türkiye is not predicated on Sweden's bid to join NATO, Jean-Pierre emphasized, speaking at a daily press briefing.
In his phone call Monday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Biden brought up his strong wish for Türkiye to approve Sweden's accession to NATO, which the U.S. wants to happen as soon as possible, she said.
"President Biden has long been clear that he supports selling F-16s to Turkey, which would help facilitate NATO interoperability," she added.
Ankara made a request to Washington for 40 F-16 jets and modernization kits in October 2021 and has been waiting for a green light from the U.S. Congress.
But some U.S. lawmakers have objected to the sale, tying its approval to ratification of NATO membership for Sweden and Finland. Finland became the 31st member of the alliance in April.
