President of Turkey Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday (December 15) that U.S. President Joe Biden was approaching the issue of selling F-16 fighter jets and modernisation kits to Turkey positively, but that Washington's main issue was the ratification of Sweden's NATO bid, Reuters reports.
Speaking in Istanbul after Friday prayers, Erdogan also said he told Biden in a phone call on Thursday (December 14) that the United States needed to intervene to end the fighting in Gaza, adding that crimes against humanity were being committed in the enclave.
Turkey asked in October 2021 to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16 fighters and 79 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. The Biden administration backs the $20 billion sale but there have been objections in the U.S. Congress over Turkey's human rights record and over its delaying of NATO enlargement to bring in Sweden.
Turkey, which backs a two-state solution to the generations-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has lambasted Israel over its devastating offensive in Gaza, a tiny Hamas-ruled enclave, and called for an immediate ceasefire. It has also criticised Western support for Israel, namely from the United States.
