Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed Sweden's NATO membership protocol and now Ankara is waiting for Congressional approval for the F-16s.
Ankara's latest move is for the Turkish Foreign Ministry to send a notification to Washington and NATO that the protocol has been approved, as Manolis Kostidis notes.
Today, however, Ankara and Washington are waiting for the State Department to send a request to Congress for the sale of 40 F-16s and the modernization kits for the remaining fighters.
Possibly the request will be accompanied by assurances about Turkey's behavior in order to appease congressional opposition, possibly with clauses relating to the development of arms programs.
The HABER TURK television network reported: "The law on the protocol of Sweden's accession to NATO which was approved by the Turkish Parliament has been published in the Government Gazette. The law was published under article 7492 and it is mentioned that the protocol concerning the accession of the Kingdom of Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is approved and has been signed on November 5, 2022. And the President signed the President's decision to approve the protocol to the decision of the accession of Sweden."
The US ambassador to Turkey believes that the development of Greek-Turkish relations has been helpful in changing the climate in Congress.
"I don't think we will see a vote on F-16s in Congress"
"We probably won't see a vote in Congress, there's no need for that. There will only be a vote if there is opposition. So we're at a satisfactory point and I often talk to my old friends in Congress. Frankly, they attach great importance to Sweden's membership of NATO. We are at a satisfactory point, but of course, the issue of the sale is within the jurisdiction of Congress and they will evaluate it.
The developing relationship between Turkey and Greece has been really useful to Congress and other parties. It's been great to see the security cooperation, the trade cooperation, the warm relationship between the two countries, and that helps as well," said Jake Flake.
Turkish analysts: If we hit the Larissa base we will also disable the F-35s that the Greeks will receive"
"One F-35 is like having 100 aircraft facing each other that are interconnected"
Mehmet Akif Ersoy, host of HABERTURK, said: "We are comparing the F-35s with the F-16s as Greece will be paired with F-35s while Turkey will be paired with F-16s. We are wondering which one is better. That is, it is better to have a modernized F-16 or maybe F-35. Which one is better in terms of combat?"
The former head of the Turkish Air Force Intelligence Department, Gursel Tokmakoglu replied, "You are asking a question whose answer must have a lot of technical details."
"Let me just ask you as we used to say as kids. Which one beats the other one up?" rejoined Ersoy.
Tokmakoglu replied, "Well said, but war is not such a simple matter. Let me explain. Suppose the Greeks received the F-35s and transferred them to the Larissa base. And you go and cause a hit on the Larissa airstrip. Well then what will Greece do with the F-35s? The F-35s are like robots. Basically in front of you you have not just an aircraft but a robot that is interfaced with other robots. So when you are confronted with the F-35, you are not only facing this aircraft but all the aircraft that communicate and are interconnected with each other and the F-35 and the rest. So in reality you are not only facing one F-35 but hundreds of aircraft."
Ankara: "We stand by the just struggle of our Turkish expatriates in Western Thrace"
"On the day of their national resistance we commemorate Sadik Ahmet"
Turkish Defence Ministry spokesman Zeki Akturk said: "Again, on the occasion of the 'January 29th National Resistance and Social Solidarity Day', we express that we stand by our 'Turkish expatriates' of 'Western Thrace' in their just struggle and we commemorate the pioneer of the struggle Dr. Sadik Ahmet with mercy and respect."
