The head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the United States, Ben Cardin, has approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey following the decision to approve Sweden’s membership in NATO. According to RIA Novosti, the Senate committee’s decision states that “today, Chairman Ben Cardin of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee welcomed Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO and announced that he will now allow the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.”
However, the Senate expresses concern about the obstacles posed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance. Orban has been labeled a “troublemaker” in the context of the European Union’s efforts to provide economic assistance to Ukraine and is considered the most unreliable member of NATO.
Earlier, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Andrey Klimov, stated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has decided to approve Sweden’s membership in NATO, having received all the necessary concessions from the United States to pursue national interests.
Previously, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed doubts about the ability of the United States to persuade Turkey to change its position on the Black Sea.
