In a post on Twitter, Robert Menendez underlines in an extremely clear way that no victory for Turkey in the US 2023 defense budget (NDAA), stressing that the blockade on the sale remains unless Turkey moves away from its tactics of provocations and violations.
"Contrary to some claims, the defence budget does not represent a victory for Turkey. It is just one of the many tools we have at our disposal in the Senate regarding arms sales. I'll say it again. As chairman of the International Affairs Committee, I will NOT approve F-16s for Turkey until Erdogan stops his violations in the region."
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Senator Menendez continues to retain veto power as chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and therefore remains the politician holding the keys to the F-16.
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had referred in celebratory tones to the US sale of F-16s, while ignoring Congress' message on overflights over the Greek islands.
"Technical talks on F-16s continue in a constructive manner. It was stressed that the US fully supports the F-16s. They said this is also beneficial for NATO and the alliance. We welcome the developments on the National Defence decision."
The Turkish press reported the decision in the same vein.
The Turkish Anadolu network reported early Wednesday morning (7/12) that the amendment that stipulated conditions for the sale of the fighters to Ankara had been withdrawn from the final defense budget bill. The report referred to the two amendments introduced by Democratic Senators Robert-Bob-Menendez and Chris Van Hollen that tied F-16 sales to Turkey to specific conditions. According to the Turkish news agency, Turkey's diplomatic efforts in Washington brought this "change" to Congress.
The decision created a climate of panic in Greece, Hurriyet claimed:
Congress: Overflights should not take place
It should be noted that the US Congress earlier on Wednesday (7/12) sent a clear message to Turkey about overflights over the Greek islands, which included a reference to this in the accompanying text of the defense budget (NDAA) that was finalized on Tuesday night.
"We believe that NATO allies should not conduct unauthorized overflights in the airspace of other NATO allies," U.S. lawmakers noted in the accompanying explanatory text of the House and Senate Defense Appropriations committees.
This language is considered a statement of legislative intent from Congress to the Biden administration, as it sends the message that Ankara's provocations in the Aegean must be addressed before the White House sends formal notice of the F-16 deal to Congress.
This reference to overflights is the result of months of negotiations in Congress to include an amendment in the text of the bill. Specifically, in the section on F-16 transfers, entitled "restrictions on the transfer of F-16 aircraft," it is recalled that the House text included Chris Pope's amendment that would have prohibited the U.S. president from selling or authorizing a license to export new F-16 aircraft or upgrade technology or modernization kits to Turkey unless the president provided certain certifications. It is then noted that there is no similar amendment in the Senate text and therefore no such provision is included in the final text.
However, it should be noted that the amendments were merely an additional tool from the beginning, as Senator Robert Menendez continues to retain veto power as Chairman of the Senate International Relations Committee and therefore continues to be considered the politician who holds the keys to the F-16. In fact, in a recent interview with ERT, he reiterated once again that he will not consent to the transfer of the fighter jets to Turkey.
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