F-16 sale could mend US-Turkey ties, but Russia intrudes

The US is weighing a Turkish plan to buy a fleet of F-16 jet fighters, which officials in Ankara say would mend the countries’ ruptured security links.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in November that Turkey was ready to mediate between Ukraine and Russia. Picture” AFP

The Biden administration is weighing a Turkish proposal to buy a fleet of F-16 jet fighters that officials in Ankara say would mend ruptured security links between the countries, but the sale faces opposition from members of congress critical of Turkey’s growing ties to Russia.

Turkish officials say the deal could be a lifeline for the relationship with the US, which has suffered over Turkey’s purchases of Russian arms, clashing interests in the war in Syria and US criticism of Ankara’s human rights record. In both countries, analysts say blocking the sale could push Ankara closer to Russia.

The prospect of F-16 sales to Turkey, a member of NATO, comes as Russia is testing the alliance’s resolve on the Ukrainian border, where Moscow has deployed tens of thousands of troops and prompted fears of an invasion.

The deal has its origin in 1999, when Turkey joined the American-led international consortium building the F-35 advanced jet fighter. In 2017, Ankara decided to buy the Russian S-400 air defence system over objections from the US, which feared it could hack into the F-35s. In response, two years later the US expelled Turkey from the F-35 program.

With the F-35 out of reach, the new F-16s would replace ageing F-16s and F-4 jets in Turkey’s fleet. But the proposed sale faces resistance from legislators who take a dim view of the S-400 purchase, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s close relationship with his Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and Turkish policies in the eastern Mediterranean, US officials and congressional aides said.

US-made F-16 jet fighters could be sold to Turkey. Picture: AFP

The Biden administration hasn’t signalled whether it will back the F-16 deal. US arms export control laws require the administration to notify congress of proposed foreign military sales, giving legislators a chance to review and oppose or try to block a deal. The administration hasn’t formally notified congress about the proposed F-16 sale.

“It would hit speed bumps,” a congressional aide said. “The question is would those speed bumps break it apart, or would it be able to make it over them?”

The proposed deal illustrates the complex national security issues in the US relationship with Turkey, a regional power that hosts thousands of American soldiers. The decades-old security relationship between Ankara and Washington has become strained in recent years as Mr Erdogan has formed closer ties with Russia. Turkey has also attacked US-backed Kurdish militias in Syria. Meanwhile, Mr Erdogan said in November that Turkey was ready to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.

The US is negotiating with Turkish officials over the sale, according to Turkish officials. A chief adviser to Mr Erdogan, Ibrahim Kalin, inquired about the deal during a call on January 10 with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, says a person familiar with the discussion.

Several NATO member states fly F-16s, including Turkey.

Current and former Turkish officials said the F-16 deal, if approved, would arrest the NATO ally’s drift toward Russia. Beyond the S-400 deal, Mr Erdogan said last year he had discussed with Russia ramping up defence co-operation, including on fighter planes and jet engines.

“Turkey is an important player in the game and it has to be kept in the Western fold,” said Ilnur Cevik, a chief foreign policy adviser to Mr Erdogan.

The S-400 purchase drove a rift between the two countries that has resisted repair. Mr Cevik said the country hadn’t yet deployed the missile batteries, though Mr Erdogan has said he wants to buy more.

“(The F-16 sale) is a brilliant way out,” said James Jeffrey, a former US ambassador to Turkey. “The problem is there’s such a negative attitude about Turkey, particularly in the US congress, that I’m afraid people are going to stumble over it.”

The deal faces scepticism among senators who object to Turkey’s purchase of the Russian missile system. The leaders of the Senate foreign relations committee, Robert Menendez (Democrat) and Republican James Risch, have yet to take public positions on the deal. In the House of Representatives, the bipartisan Hellenic Caucus objected to the deal in letters to Secretary of State Antony Blinken last year, citing Ankara’s Russian arms purchases and Turkey’s dispute with Greece over maritime borders in the Mediterranean.

Current and former Turkish officials say sinking the F-16 deal would punish Turkey’s defence establishment, which remains broadly aligned with the US and opposed to Russia despite Mr Erdogan’s relationship with Mr Putin.

The Wall Street Journal