Blinken says Turkey getting F-16s ‘totally unrelated’ to veto on Sweden’s NATO bid
The top US diplomat said Thursday that Turkey lifting its veto on Sweden’s NATO bid is “totally unrelated” to Ankara receiving American fighter jets.
“These are totally unrelated matters,” Blinken said in an interview with NRK TV, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, when asked about Sweden’s stalled bid to join the NATO alliance.
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Turkey has been asking to buy F-16 fighter jets from the US, but widespread bipartisan opposition to this sale continues due to several policy decisions by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. These include Turkey’s purchase of Russian air defense systems and refusing to allow Sweden into NATO.
Blinken said the Biden administration “very much supports” providing F-16s to Turkey or upgrading the F-16s that it has, “just as we very much and very strongly support Sweden’s immediate accession to NATO.”
He added: “But these are two distinct issues. They’re not related to each other.”
Read more: Blinken urges Turkey to immediately approve Sweden’s NATO accession
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