President Biden signaled his backing for the weaponry sale to Turkey in an announcement on Thursday, expressing optimism that Congress will pass this measure.
Biden had met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the day prior, but shut down the idea that the suggested deal was a “quid pro quo” for Turkey backing Finland and Sweden’s applications to join the NATO military alliance.
In a Twitter thread on Sunday, Graham announced he had a “productive trip” to the nation.
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“While we have had a problematic relationship at times, it is imperative Turkey and the US take steps to strengthen the ties between our two nations,” Graham announced on Twitter.
“I will do all in my power to support the Biden Administration’s decision to sell F-16s to the Turkish Air Force,” Graham continued in the thread.
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“These fighter jets, in the hands of our NATO allies, will create a sense of stability and provide capability to the Turkish military that is most definitely in America’s national security interests.”
There had been broad speculation since Turkey raised objections to Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership bids that the U.S. would need to offer concessions in order to convince Turkey to back down.
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Nevertheless, Biden and other administration officials disputed the idea there was a connection between plans for any jet sales and Turkey’s choice to drop its objections earlier this week.
“There was no quid pro quo with that. It’s just, we should sell,” Biden told reporters on Thursday. “I need congressional approval to be able to do that, and I think we can get that.”
Meanwhile, Graham was in Baghdad on Monday for a meeting with Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi.
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The Republican politician, who called for additional US reinforcements to Iraq in 2015 to fight ISIS and an upsurge in the US presence from 3,000 to 10,000 personnel, announced he was there to visit American forces on his nation's independence day on July 4.
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Iraq announced discussions would concentrate on security co-operation with the US, with reconstruction aid a the top of the agenda.
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Since the near defeat of ISIS in 2017, the US has slightly lowered its military footprint in Iraq and there are roughly 2,500 US troops remaining, alongside many small contingents from different nations, training Iraqi forces in the continuing fight against the remnants of the extremist group.
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