Turkish internet news site Medyascope‘s Foreign News Service on February 3, 2023, issued the following report based on a partial translation of a letter Congress sent to U.S. President Joe Biden requesting that he, along with U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake, urge Türkiye to act quickly regarding Ankara’s decision to approve Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership applications. Congress intended to twist Ankara’s arm by linking the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye to the latter’s giving permission for the two Scandinavian countries to join the Western alliance.

A translation of the Turkish report follows:

Letter to Biden from 29 U.S. senators: “We will not support the sale of F-16s to Türkiye until Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership is approved.”

Twenty-nine senators in the United States of America (USA), both Democrats and Republicans, sent a letter to President Joe Biden about selling F-16s to Türkiye. The senators said that for the first time, they would establish a relationship between the sale of F-16s to Türkiye with Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership and that they would not support F-16s being sold to Türkiye until Ankara approves the NATO membership of the two Scandinavian countries.

Twenty-nine Democrat and Republican senators, in the letter that they wrote to U.S. President Joe Biden, expressed that even if Ankara were to demand “even more” from Stockholm, the two Scandinavian countries have tried to meet the criteria that Türkiye has demanded in order to say “okay” to membership to NATO and that they have shown “good faith efforts.”

The senators wrote, “Congress could not put on the agenda giving support in the future to Türkiye until the accession protocols are completely approved. After the two countries’ accession protocols to NATO have been approved by Türkiye, Congress will be able to assess the sale of F-16s. However, the two countries’ membership negotiations not being completed leads to this sale, which is anticipated, being questioned.” In this way, Congress has established a relationship, clearly and directly, for the first time concerning F-16s being sold to Türkiye and Sweden’s and Finland’s membership to NATO.

“Have them act quickly”

In the letter, [Congress] also stated that, by not approving the two Scandinavian countries’ NATO membership, Türkiye has been threatening the unity of the NATO alliance as long as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues. In the letter, in which it was said, “A security relationship which provides for productive and reciprocal benefit with Türkiye is in the U.S. interest,” it requested that President Biden and U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye, Jeff Flake, call for Ankara to take action quickly.

The senators also stated that although “Türkiye is a valued NATO ally,” [the country] was casting a shadow on bilateral relations with the attitude it was showing toward Sweden and Finland.

What had happened?

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden and Finland, leaving the policy of neutrality that they have conducted for years, applied to accede to NATO. However, Türkiye has accused Sweden and Finland, and especially Sweden, of being a “guesthouse for terror organizations” and has imposed an embargo on membership to the alliance. For the two Scandinavian countries’ NATO membership to be approved, it is necessary for member countries to accept this decision in their parliaments. In the first days of 2023, in the 30-member NATO alliance, there are two countries that are not approving this decision: Türkiye and Hungary.

Ankara is demanding a tougher stance against the PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party], which is considered a terrorist organization by Türkiye and the European Union (EU), and foremost, by Stockholm. The three countries reached a return forward agreement at the NATO Leaders Summit in Madrid in June 2022. After Rasmus Paludan, leader of the extreme right Stram Kurs (Strict Course) Party, which is known to have anti-Islamic and extreme right views, burned the “holy” Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm, Ankara suspended the negotiations that were continuing between the three countries.