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US to host Turkish FM to discuss F-16 deal and Sweden's NATO bid

Ankara-Washington ties have improved during the course of the Ukraine conflict, but some US lawmakers continue to fuel tensions.

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The two foreign ministers have met before on the sidelines of NATO summits.

Senior-level talks between Türkiye and US are set to begin on January 18, with all eyes set on whether the top diplomatic contact would yield positive outcomes over the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets and Sweden's bid to join NATO.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Washington.

The two foreign ministers have met before on the sidelines of NATO summits and United Nations meetings but it took the Biden administration almost two years to extend an official invitation to Cavusoglu, a delay that many analysts say reflects a strained relationship.

For Ankara, the US and its allies have turned a blind eye to Türkiye's security concerns and instead played a role in strengthening armed groups like YPG, which is the Syrian offshoot of PKK, a terror group in the eyes of the US, the EU, NATO and Türkiye.

Russia's offensive in Ukraine, Syria policy, energy cooperation and regional security issues will also be on the agenda, US and Turkish officials said.

Although the US has praised Türkiye for playing a role of a credible mediator between Ukraine and Russia and making major breakthroughs like the crucial grain deal, Washington has shown disaffection with the nature of Ankara-Moscow ties.

Ties between the two NATO allies hit a low point, especially when Türkiye acquired Russian missile defence systems in 2019. While Ankara insisted that it was a much-needed acquisition in light of the looming border threat emanating from northern Syria, where the US has armed the YPG terror group to its teeth, the US still went ahead and removed Türkiye from the next-generation F-35 fighter jet program.

Türkiye now hopes to buy F-16 jets from the US, a sale that some top members of Congress oppose despite support from the Biden administration.

Objection from Lawmakers

A section of influential US lawmakers continues to take a hawkish position against Türkiye, disregarding its security concerns. Proving to be a major obstacle in the potential Ankara-Washington F-16 deal, these lawmakers criticise the past and impending Turkish cross-border operations against the PKK/YPG presence in northern Syria.

PKK terror group has been fighting the Turkish state since 1984, leaving more than 40,000 dead, including women and children.

Last summer, the UN's annual Children and Armed Conflict report revealed that the terror group has been recruiting children despite rights bodies urging them to abstain from minor recruitments.

Ankara's refusal to ratify NATO membership of Sweden and Finland has become another issue of contention that some of the US lawmakers are exploiting to stop the F-16 deal from materialising.

The two Nordic states applied for NATO membership last year following Russia's offensive in Ukraine but their bids need approval from all 30 NATO member states. Türkiye and Hungary have yet to endorse the applications.

Türkiye raised objections, accusing the countries of harbouring, even supporting the terror groups. It said Sweden, in particular, must first take a clearer stance against these groups, mainly PKK and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which is behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the two countries had to deport or extradite up to 130 "terrorists" to Türkiye before parliament would approve their requests to join NATO.

Dead end?

Last week, the US State Department informally notified the committees overseeing arms sales in the US Senate and House of Representatives of its intention to proceed with the $20 billion sale of F-16s to Türkiye.

Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, whose leaders review major foreign military sales, is leading the pack of critics.

Menendez is currently facing a federal investigation over a range of charges, including corruption, bribery and dishonesty. This is the second time Menendez has been probed for corruption.

At a press conference on Saturday, Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish presidential spokesperson, said Washington's demands relating to the supply of the fighter jets were "endless."

He added he hoped the F-16 deal would not become "hostage" to the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland.

"If the US is telling us that 'You should ratify Sweden and Finland's NATO accession to get F-16 jets from the US, this would lead us to a dead end," deputy head of the Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee and ruling AK Party member Berat Conkar told Reuters.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies