Ankara could get the F16, but US-Turkey ties remain uneasy
Washington - Aiming to secure support for Sweden's bid to join NATO, US President Joe Biden signaled a transactional approach in his engagement with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The recently re-elected Turkish leader has been one of the most consistent but complicated members of the transatlantic military alliance.
Biden spoke with Erdogan on Monday to congratulate him on winning his third presidential term and said the two had discussed the issue of Sweden's NATO membership and Turkey's request to overhaul and expand its fleet of US-made F-16 fighter jets.
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He still wants to work on something on the F-16s. I told him we wanted an agreement with Sweden, so let's do it. And then we will be back in touch with each other, Biden said, adding that they will talk more about it "next week."
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This is the first time Biden has linked the two issues. Neither does the White House nor did the Turkish government mention the potential sale of the F-16 in its readout of the call.
US administration officials have repeatedly rejected suggestions of a trade-off between the expansion of the transatlantic military alliance and an arms sale.
"It is not a condition," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated during her press briefing on Tuesday. "President Biden has long been clear that he supports the sale of the F-16."
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On Tuesday, during a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Luleå, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said both issues "should move forward as quickly as possible."
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in May 2022. The bids, which must be approved by all NATO members, were held up by objections from Turkey and Hungary, although Finland's bid was finally approved in April.
F-16s
Ankara has long sought to buy 40 F-16 fighter jets made by US firm Lockheed Martin and nearly 80 modernization kits for the air force's existing fighter jets - a $20 billion transaction.
The F-16 jets make up the bulk of Turkey's fighter fleet after the Trump administration in 2019 expelled Ankara from fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets over its decision to acquire Russian-made S-400 air defense systems.
The US Congress, which has the power to block major arms sales, objects to the sale of the F-16 for reasons beyond NATO expansion. It wants Ankara to ease tensions with Greece, refrain from invading northern Syria and enforce sanctions against Russia for its war on Ukraine.
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In April, about two weeks after Turkey ratified its support for Finland joining NATO, Washington approved the sale of $259 million in avionics software upgrades for Ankara's current fleet of F-16 fighter jets. But Sweden's bid is still on hold because Ankara believes Stockholm harbors "terrorists" - militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.
Swedish lawmakers have passed legislation tightening the country's anti-terror laws, a move expected to help persuade Turkey. American and Swedish officials have expressed hopes that Sweden's membership will be confirmed when NATO leaders meet in Vilnius, Lithuania, in mid-July.
While Erdogan is likely to benefit from his support for Sweden, he is also a pragmatist, said Asli Aydintaşbaş, a Turkish journalist and visiting fellow at the Center on America and Europe at Brookings.
"What we will see is a bit of a last-minute drama leading up to the summit in Vilnius," Aydıntaşbaş told VOA. "In the end, it is possible that this will be resolved on the eve of the summit."
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Tough relationships
Apart from the F-16, US-Turkey ties will remain fraught, said James Jeffrey, a former US ambassador to Turkey who is now chairman of the Middle East program at the Wilson Center.
"It's a complicated transactional relationship," Jeffrey told VOA. "It's never 100% on our side. We hope it won't be more than 50% away from us, but a lot depends on the personal relationship between Biden and Erdogan. It's been frosty; the conversation is a good first step. '
Solid ties with Ankara will be "dramatically strategic in containing Russia," as well as containing Iran and terrorist movements in the region -- all important goals for Washington, Jeffrey added.
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But Erdogan's friendly ties with Russian leader Vladimir Putin while NATO is helping Ukraine fend off a Russian invasion have worried Western officials.
"We are not bound by Western sanctions," Erdogan said in a CNN interview earlier this month. "We are a strong state and we have a positive relationship with Russia."
Ankara has calibrated its response to the war in Ukraine according to its own strategic interests, condemning the invasion and restricting Russian warships and military flights over its territory while refusing to join Western sanctions against Russia and expanding its trade ties with Moscow.
At the same time, Erdogan has maintained good ties with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. His government has provided aid and drones to Ukraine and was instrumental in the UN-backed deal that gave Ukrainian grain ships access to global markets via the Black Sea.
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S-400s
The Turkish decision to acquire the S-400 air defense system remains the most difficult issue for the United States, said Howard Eissenstat, a foreign researcher at the Middle East Institute.
"That's going to be really hard to solve," he told VOA.
Washington insists it will not allow Ankara back into its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program until Ankara abandons the Russian-made weapons. Earlier this month, Turkish media reported that Ankara rejected the Biden administration's request for Turkey to send its S-400 air defense systems to Ukraine.
Next week, Biden will host British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The leaders are expected to discuss the issue of NATO enlargement, including how to get Ankara on board.
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"They are good interlocutors for the president," Jeffrey said. "These are people who understand the geostrategic situation in Europe."
Anita Powell contributed to this report.
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