According to the Wall Street Journal, which broke the story, the administration hopes that by getting the Turkish F-16 deal approved Ankara will drop its objections to the accession of Finland and Sweden into NATO. Turkey has blocked the admission of both Nordic countries, demanding that they sever their ties with various Kurdish groups. Furthermore, administration officials told the publication that approval of the sale by Congress “is contingent on Turkey’s acquiescence” on this issue.

Turkey first requested to purchase 40 brand new F-16 Block 70 jets and 79 modernization kits for its older F-16s in October 2021 in a deal valued at $20 billion. It opted for more F-16s since it had been removed from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in 2019 and barred from buying any of the jets after it received S-400 air defense missile systems it bought from Russia. Ankara had plans to buy up to 100 F-35s for its air force.

Following the publication of the WSJ report, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez, issued a statement welcoming a Greek F-35 deal but “strongly” opposing the sale of any “new F-16 aircraft to Turkey.”

Menendez has broader objections to selling Turkey any American weaponry, ranging from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown on independent media and opposition parties in his country and his dealings with Russia. Consequently, he may not give his critical approval, even if Turkey agrees to grant NATO membership for Sweden and Finland in return.