Biden administration tells Congress it intends to sell Turkey F-16s after Erdogan approved Sweden’s NATO membership

The Biden administration told Congress it intends to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed off on Sweden’s accession to NATO on Thursday – a development that caps off more than a year of quiet, complicated negotiations.

The State Department sent the formal notification about the proposed $23 billion sale to Congress on Friday after Turkey’s instruments of ratification were formally deposited at the department. The State Department also sent Congress a formal notification of its intent to sell $8.6 billion worth of F-35s to Greece. Congress is expected to approve both sales.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was extensively engaged for months with Turkish officials and US lawmakers to reach the deal to stop Erdogan’s obstruction of Sweden’s NATO bid that would see Turkey receive the fighter jets – one of its top requests of the US.