02.02.23

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues today urged President Biden to delay the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey until Turkey agrees to stop blocking NATO’s Accession Protocol allowing Sweden and Finland to join the defense pact. The senators noted the importance of welcoming Sweden and Finland to NATO to further strengthen the alliance amid Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and broader efforts to destabilize the global order.

“We are writing with concern about President Erdogan and the Republic of Turkey’s continued delays in ratifying the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Failure to ratify the protocols or present a timeline for ratification threatens the alliance’s unity at a crucial moment in history, as Russia continues its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.” the senators wrote.

“However, a failure by Türkiye to uphold its commitments under the Trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Türkiye, Finland and Sweden should be considered, as Congress cannot consider future support to Türkiye, including the sale of F-16 fighter jets, until Turkey completes ratification of the connection protocols, continued the senators.

Cassidy, Shaheen and Tillis were joined by US senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Boozman (R-AR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Martin Heinrich ( D-NM), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Rick Scott ( R-FL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV) on the letter.

Read the entire letter here or under.

Dear President Biden:

We are writing with concern about President Erdogan and the Republic of Turkey’s continued delays in ratifying the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Failure to ratify the protocols or present a timeline for ratification threatens the alliance’s unity at a key moment in history, as Russia continues its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. A productive and mutually beneficial bilateral security relationship with Turkey is in the interest of the United States, and we await the government’s ratification of the NATO accession protocol for Sweden and Finland. A failure by Türkiye to uphold its commitments under the Trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Turkey, Finland and Sweden should be taken into account, as Congress cannot consider future aid to Türkiye, including the sale of F-16 fighter jets, until Turkey completes ratification of the Accession Protocols .

Earlier this year, Sweden and Finland submitted their formal requests to join the NATO alliance on May 17 and 18 respectively, culminating in a formal invitation to join the alliance on July 5. Since July 5, 28 of the 30 NATO member countries have ratified the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, including the United States. Of the two remaining alliance members, Hungary has committed to ratify the protocols when its legislature reconvenes for a parliamentary session in February 2023.

At the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, Turkey signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding with Sweden and Finland on June 28, outlining agreements on the efforts Sweden and Finland would take to address security concerns that Turkey raised as a prerequisite for NATO -membership for these two countries. Since then, both Sweden and Finland have worked to implement the concerns outlined in that memorandum, including but not limited to increased efforts to combat international terrorism and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization in both Sweden and Finland and is a terrorist organization designated by the United States and the European Union, and ongoing efforts to strengthen law enforcement capabilities to support extraditions and deportations to Türkiye in accordance with national procedures and the rule of law. Sweden and Finland have also started processes to review their arms export regulations. Sweden recently granted one of its first export licenses from the Swedish defense industry to supply military equipment to Turkey since 2019. Finland is also considering granting export licenses. It is clear that both Sweden and Finland are making full and good efforts to fulfill the conditions for NATO membership that Turkey has asked for. Despite this apparent progress, Türkiye has not ratified the accession protocols of Sweden and Finland and has been unwilling to commit to a timetable for consideration of the ratification of the protocols.

Turkey has proven to be a valuable NATO ally as Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine continues. We appreciate Turkey’s commitment to implementing the UN-brokered grain agreement that has enabled Ukraine to export grain and avert a global food crisis. However, this relationship has been overshadowed by continued delays in the ratification of NATO enlargement and these delays pose a risk to the security of the alliance, to Europe and to the international world order that Vladimir Putin continues to threaten. As evidenced by the ratification of the Accession Protocol of Sweden and Finland by 28 of the 30 NATO member states, Sweden and Finland will bring to the Alliance new and advanced capabilities that will better position NATO to respond to current and emerging threats.

The US and Turkey cooperate on a number of security priorities. Continued US efforts to support these priorities, such as your administration’s support for the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, are based on a shared understanding of support for our democratic allies. Once NATO’s Accession Protocol is ratified by Türkiye, Congress can consider the sale of F-16 fighter jets. Failure to do so, however, would call into question this pending sale.

When Putin invaded Ukraine, he expected the transatlantic alliance to crack; instead, the United States and our allies face an unprecedented moment in history with unprecedented unity and strength. We urge you to continue to work with the US Ambassador to Turkey, the US Mission to NATO, and with our allies, including Sweden and Finland, to encourage Turkey to act quickly in support of transatlantic unity and to ratify Sweden’s and Finland’s Protocol of Accession to NATO Alliance.

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