US approves sale of F-16 jets to Turkey after Ankara ratifies Sweden's NATO membership
The sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey has been approved by Washington after Ankara this week ratified Sweden’s NATO membership.
The US State Department notified Turkey on Friday that Congress had agreed to sell Ankara the warplanes.
The Department of State's notification came just hours after Turkey's parliament ratified Sweden’s delayed accession to NATO.
US President Joe Biden wrote a letter to key congressional committee leaders, urging them to approve the F-16 sale "without delay."
The $23 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey includes 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s and equipment to modernize 79 of its existing F-16 fleet.
Ankara has long sought to upgrade its F-16 fleet and made its ratification of Sweden’s membership contingent on the approval of the sale of the new planes.
In the meantime, the Swedish government and defense forces issued a warning to Swedes for the possibility of a Russian attack on the country.
Swedish citizens were asked to be on alert for the possibility of a war with Russia. The warnings caused the public to panic and criticize the country's leaders. A multitude of people flocked their way to the market in order to procure fuel and bundles of indispensable and crucial provisions “crisis kit”.
In the past months, leaders worldwide have been warning each other about the growing threat of WW III breaking out.
In this regard, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, pointed out that the danger of World War III breaking out across the globe is a real threat.
Lavrov, in his comments to Russian media outlets, said that given the current tensions between Russia and the West, the danger of World War III is "real" and blames the US-led NATO forces for engaging in a proxy war against Russia through Kiev.
"And I think that the NATO encroachments, and the furthering of NATO interests throughout Europe as they get closer and closer to Russia's borders, justify some reaction from Russia, and the United States is going to continue pushing in their interest, which is only going to get us closer to World War III," he added.
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