Sale of F-16s to Turkey ‘would be baffling,’ says US Senator Menendez

Any decision by the United States to go ahead with the sale of F-16 fighter jets and upgrade kits to Turkey would be "baffling" given the "belligerent" stance of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan towards NATO ally Greece, said Senator Bob Menendez, chair of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, reiterating that he will not approve the sale.

"I would aspire for Turkey to be different than it is under President Erdogan. For Turkey to be the reliable NATO ally, to follow the international norms, to not be belligerent to its neighbors… It is in that context that I have opposed the sale of the F-16s, because at the end of the day, the reality is that we have not seen a Turkey under Erdogan that lives up to those expectations," Menendez said in an interview with Mega TV on Monday night.

"What we have seen is a Turkey that threatens another NATO ally, i.e. the...