U.S. government will continue to support sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye: Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that his government will continue to support the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye.

The remarks came during a closed-door meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Biden on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, where they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries, particularly trade and security issues, and regional developments, according to a Turkish Communications Directorate statement.

Biden thanked Erdoğan for his efforts to help remove obstacles in the Istanbul grain deal and to resume the exports from Ukrainian ports, the statement said.

The U.S. president also said that Türkiye is an "important actor" in Sweden's NATO accession process, it added.

Also, Biden conveyed his condolences to Erdoğan over Sunday's deadly terror attack in Istanbul.

At least six people were killed and 81 injured in Sunday's bomb blast, which the Turkish government confirmed was carried out by the terror group YPG/PKK.

The relations between Ankara and Washington have been strained in recent years due to U.S. cooperation with the terrorist group YPG/PKK in Syria, its failure to extradite the wanted ringleader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), disagreements over Türkiye's purchase of Russia's S-400 air defense system, and Washington's sanctions on Ankara.

The U.S. has said it is cooperating with the YPG/PKK in northern Syria to fight the terrorist group Daesh/ISIS, but Turkish officials say using one terrorist group to fight another makes no sense, morally or otherwise.