Positive signals have emerged from the United States regarding the facilitation of Turkey's acquisition of American F-16 fighter jets after the Turkish parliament ratified the protocol for Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Both Washington and NATO immediately welcomed the ratification by the Turkish parliament on Tuesday night into Wednesday of Sweden's accession protocol, which was submitted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the parliament on October 23 of last year. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg praised the Turkish move, calling on Hungary to follow Turkey's lead as soon as possible. The White House mentioned that President Joe Biden considers Sweden's accession to the alliance "a key priority." U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan tweeted: "We welcome the Turkish parliament's vote to approve Sweden's NATO membership request. Sweden will make the alliance safer and stronger."

F-16 Dossier
Turkish media reported a U.S. National Security Council official stating that the sale of F-16 aircraft to Ankara aligns with the national security interests of the United States, Turkey, and NATO allies. He added, "President Joe Biden has supported from the outset the modernization of Turkey's F-16 fleet... promising that this will lead to increased interoperability within NATO and serve the national interest of the United States." He continued, "Congress plays a significant role in arms sales to foreign countries, and we are working with Congress to resolve this matter."

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the U.S. welcomes the Turkish parliament's approval of Sweden's NATO membership and sees it as something that will strengthen the alliance. He confirmed that President Biden has long been open to supporting the modernization of Turkey's F-16 fleet, and the potential sale of the aircraft to Turkey would support the national security interests of both Turkey and the United States and all NATO allies.

President Erdogan earlier announced that Biden confirmed to him in a telephone call on January 14 that his administration would work on approving the sale of the American jets to Turkey.

In October 2021, Turkey requested 40 American-made F-16 Block 70 fighter jets and 79 upgrade kits for its older aircraft in a deal valued at $20 billion. However, the U.S. Congress has not yet approved the deal for various reasons, eventually tying it to Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership.

After lengthy discussions lasting over six hours, the Turkish parliament, on Tuesday night, ratified the bill approving Sweden's NATO membership protocol. Out of 346 deputies who participated in the voting, 287 approved the bill, with 55 opposing and four abstaining.

Members of the ruling Justice and Development Party, its ally the Nationalist Movement Party, and members of the main opposition Republican People's Party voted in favor of the bill. In contrast, the Good Party and the Felicity Party opposed it, while deputies from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party abstained from voting.

Following the vote, the U.S. Ambassador to Ankara, Jeffrey Flake, expressed his appreciation for the Turkish parliament's decision to approve Sweden's NATO membership on Twitter, stating that "Turkey's commitment to the alliance clearly shows our enduring partnership."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also welcomed the development, tweeting, "The United States appreciates the Turkish parliament's decision to approve the protocol for Sweden's membership in NATO. Sweden's membership will make the alliance stronger and more united than ever before."

Commitments from Sweden
The Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, welcomed the Turkish parliament's ratification of his country's NATO membership, describing it as a positive step. He tweeted, "Today we are one step closer to becoming a full member of NATO."

Swedish Foreign Minister, Tobias Billström, reaffirmed that Sweden would continue to combat terrorism in close cooperation with Turkey, stating that "the approval by the Turkish parliament has validated the agreements we had made previously." He pointed out that Sweden had signed a trilateral memorandum in June 2022 with Turkey and Finland, which involves full cooperation with Turkey in combating terrorist organizations, especially the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), and the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETO), among other terrorist groups and individuals associated with them.

It is expected that President Erdogan will sign the decision passed by the parliament into law, and thereafter, Turkey will deliver the final document confirming its ratification to Washington in accordance with NATO rules. Once ratified, Turkey cannot retract this approval, even if the United States does not fulfill its promises to sell F-16 jets to Turkey.

Hungarian Position
While Turkey was the main obstacle to Sweden's NATO membership despite Hungary's pending ratification of Sweden's request and its position linked to that of Ankara, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday said he had invited the Swedish Prime Minister to visit Budapest to negotiate his country's membership in the alliance. Hungary had previously committed not to be the last country to ratify Sweden's request, but its parliament will be in recess until mid-February next year.

Unlike Turkey, Hungary had no demands from Sweden as Turkey had demanded additional steps in addressing "terrorist organizations'" activities against it on its territory.