Blinken: Selling F-16s to Turkey in US ‘national interest’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that it is a “national interest and security interest” for the Biden administration to upgrade Turkey’s current F-16 fleet and provide new warplanes to its NATO ally, after talks with his counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Cavusoglu said it is not possible for Turkey to purchase the Lockheed Martin warplanes with pre-conditions and that he believes the issue can be overcome if the US administration maintains a decisive stance.

The Turkish minister told reporters he discussed a planned $20 billion deal for the aircraft with Blinken, adding that Ankara would like the Biden administration to send the formal notification for the F-16s to Congress. [Combined reports]