A senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday that the US is backing a deal with Turkey to modernize F-16 fighter jets, less than 24 hours after Ankara cleared the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO..

Turkey was sanctioned and removed from the US F-35 program for refusing to get rid of Russian S-400 missile defense systems. But Ankara appears to have won some concessions from the international community, including the US, for overcoming objections to Finland and Sweden's NATO bid..

Negotiations between the US and Turkey aimed at resolving the fighter jet dispute have been ongoing for months, including "

After the NATO agreement on Sweden and Finland, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander spoke to reporters and was asked about the US position on the sale of F-16s to Turkey..

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“So, the US Department of Defense fully supports Turkey’s plans to modernize its fleet of F-16s.. These plans are in development,” Wallander said, noting that such plans would need to be developed as part of “our contract processes.”.

Wallander added: "

Instead of no longer participating in the F-35 program, Turkey has offered a deal where it will buy new F-16s from the US while modernizing its existing fleet of 80 old F-16s in dire need of modernization..

Congress must approve this despite strong bipartisan dissatisfaction with Ankara, but the Biden administration has signaled it is willing to greenlight the deal..

A senior State Department official told Al Arabiya it is critical for NATO to ensure Turkey has a fully functioning air capability.. “Turkey is in desperate need to upgrade its current fleet of combat aircraft [for NATO],” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to discuss the matter..

And according to a State Department spokesman, the lifespan of the current fleet of Turkish F-16s will be extended " " They could just send the S400 to Ukraine,” the official said.. Although unlikely, the official indicated that it would almost certainly elicit a favorable response from Congress..

Wallander, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters that Turkey is a "

“And Turkey’s defense capability – Turkey’s strong defense capability helps strengthen NATO’s defense capability,” she said..

Earlier today, US President Joe Biden said that Washington intends to increase its military presence in Europe, including in the Baltic countries, Poland, Great Britain, Spain..

Read more about how, after the end of this war, to prevent a new attack by Nazi Russia on Ukraine, read the article by Tatiana Silina "