Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington on Wednesday to secure a $20 billion arms sale that includes 40 Lockheed Martin Block 70 F-16 fighter jets as well as upgrades to Turkey’s current F-16 fleet.
But the U.S. State Department has yet to formally notify Congress of the potential deal, and a key senator has vowed to block it from proceeding.
If the sale clears Congress, Turkey may still have to wait a good deal of time before it receives the new jets amid an F-16 production backlog.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has repeatedly said he will use his position as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee to block the sale, and he hasn’t shown signs of backing down.
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“I strongly oppose the Biden administration’s proposed sale of new F-16 aircraft to Turkey,” Menendez said in a statement. “President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan continues to undermine international law, disregard human rights and democratic norms and engage in alarming and destabilizing behavior in Turkey and against neighboring NATO allies.
Read more: Defense News
