US says F-16 sale to Turkey serves NATO interests in letter to Congress
(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
The United States administration has underlined in a letter to
the congress that the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey
would serve both U.S. and NATO security interests, Trend reports citing
Hurriyet Daily News .
“The Administration believes that there are nonetheless
compelling long-term NATO alliance unity and capability interests,
as well as U.S. national security, economic and commercial
interests that are supported by appropriate U.S. defense trade ties
with Turkey,” read a letter sent by Naz Durakoglu.
Turkey had demanded to purchase 40 new F-16 jet fighters and
around 80 modernization kits in a bid to keep its air fleet intact
after it was excluded from the joint F-35 fifth-generation fighter
jet program due to its deployment of Russian S-400 air defense
systems.
She also recalled Turkey's active contributions to NATO,
stressing:“Turkey is a longstanding NATO ally with the
second-largest army in the alliance. It's an active contributor to
NATO missions, including most recently in Eastern Europe, the Black
Sea, the Balkans and Afghanistan. Turkey's support for Ukraine's
territorial integrity and cooperative defense relations are an
important deterrent to malign influence in the region.”
Tags:
- Turkey
- US
- F-16 fighter jets
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