Bob Menendez, US Senator and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sharply criticized Turkey on its stance towards NATO enlargement, its relations with Greece and Cyprus, and its human rights record, saying it does not “deserve” to acquire new fighter jets from the United States.
The comment was made during a hearing where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefed senators about a budget increase sought by the State Department to tackle “Russia’s autocracy and aggression” and “the long-term challenge” from China.
Noting that Ankara “violates another country’s airspace and territorial waters without provocation, buys Russian military equipment in violation of US law, has more lawyers and journalists in jail than almost any other country and jails it main political opponent right before elections, seeks by force to block the rights of an EU country to explore its energy deposits off its outer continental shelf,” he asked Blinken, “How would you characterize such a country?”
“I guess I’d call it a challenging ally,” Blinken replied.
“I call the country Turkey and…I don’t believe that such a country… deserves to have F-16s sold to it. I don’t know what messages we are sending to the world,” Menendez added.
Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, emphasized that Erdogan's willingness to shift from his previous stance would be crucial in reconsidering his opposition to the deal. In a statement to reporters, Menendez stated,
"If it's the same, or more of the same, as what we've seen, then I'll still have the same positions as I've had before," Menendez said.
NATO member Turkey requested in October 2021 to buy $20 billion of Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. President Joe Biden's administration has said it supports the sale and has been in touch for months with Congress to win its approval.
But it has faced opposition, notably from Menendez, over a range of issues, including Turkey's resistance to the ratification of Sweden's NATO membership, concerns about the jailing of journalists and other human rights abuses, and Turkish overflights of Greek airspace.
"Sweden is only part of the equation. For some members, it may be the whole equation. It's not for me," Menendez said.
Menendez said he had not heard from Biden about Turkey since the president's congratulatory call to Erdogan. Erdogan repeated Ankara's desire to buy the F-16s, while Biden told him Washington wanted Ankara to drop its objection to Sweden's joining NATO.
