Biden signals stronger Ankara ties with push to ‘green light’ missile sales

ANKARA, 15 May 2022, (TON): US President Joe Biden’s administration has asked Congress to green light a proposed sale of missiles and equipment upgrades to Turkey, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

The deal, said to be worth about $300 million, is expected to further deepen defense ties between the NATO allies.

However, the proposed deal is not part of a $6 billion agreement that Turkey has been seeking since last year to buy 40 Lockheed Martin F-16 jets and 80 kits to upgrade its existing fleet.

The US administration’s informal notification process allows members of Congress to review the transaction and provide feedback before the deal is finalized.

Turkey’s purchase and deployment of Russian-made S-400 defense missile systems in 2017 resulted in the country’s removal from the US F-35 fighter jet program in 2019 over concerns that the Russian radar system would spy on the aircraft.

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