Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed that the U.S. Congress has given a go-ahead to the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.
"We are pleased that our request regarding F-16s ended with a positive decision from the U.S. After the restrictions are lifted, the Turkish defense industry will be developing more intensively," Erdogan said.
The congressional approval of the deal to sell Turkey 40 new and 79 upgraded F-16 planes was announced earlier by U.S. ambassador to Ankara Jeffrey Flake.
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said he expected a decision on the fighter jets from the U.S. Congress by February 10. According to him, there was a preliminary agreement between Ankara and Washington to the effect the U.S. would act on the sale of the F-16s after the Turkish parliament approved Sweden's application to join NATO. The legislature approved Stockholm's ratification protocol in January.
