The Biden administration has notified Congress of the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, sparking an immediate objection from a top U.S. lawmaker who has long opposed the deal.
The U.S. State Department sent the informal notification to Congress on Thursday, three sources familiar said, kicking off a process called the "tiered review", informing top committees overseeing arms sales in the Senate and the House of Representatives of its intention to proceed with the proposed deal.
"As I have repeatedly made clear, I strongly oppose the Biden administration’s proposed sale of new F-16 aircraft to Turkey," senator Bob Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. Following the tiered review, a process during which the committee can ask questions or raise concerns about the sale, the administration can technically go ahead with a formal notification. But a senior U.S. official said he was "doubtful" the administration would be in a position to proceed unless Menendez dropped his objection.
Turkey's 2019 acquisition of Russian air defense systems resulted in Ankara being kicked out of the next generation F-35 fighter jet program and antagonized the U.S. Congress. Disagreements with Washington over Syria policy and Turkey's deteriorating track record on human rights and freedom expression also weighs on the Congress sentiment.
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