By Trend

The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve the new sale of F-16 fighter jets, U.S. daily Wall Street Journal has reported, Trend reports citing Hurriyet Daily News.

According to a report by WSJ on May 11, Ankara’s role in the Ukraine conflict and its supplying drones to Ukraine has helped repair frayed ties with Washington and could set the stage for the sale of F-16 fighter jets.

“Those moves have resulted in warming ties with Washington and more frequent contact with U.S. officials,” WSJ said.

A deal would include the sale of newly built 40 F-16 fighter jets and the modernization of some 80 F-16s.

“U.S. officials familiar with the request said the administration could be using the missile deal to gauge the level of support in Congress for a separate proposal to sell 40 new F-16s to Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally that has angered some officials in Washington over its ties to Russia,” it said.

“U.S. and Turkish officials are advocating for the F-16 deal, arguing that it could help repair the American-Turkish defense relationship, which frayed after Ankara chose to buy a Russian air-defense system in 2017.”