Turkey needs to turn U.S. Senator Bob Menendez’s legal challenges into opportunity for its requested purchase of F-16 fighter jets from Washington, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, Turkish media reported.
Speaking with reporters aboard a flight, Erdogan was quoted as saying that Menendez is now “out of the picture” after being charged taking bribes from three New Jersey businessmen. This is “advantageous” for Turkey, he added.
Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has long opposed the potential sale of F-16s to Turkey and criticised Erdogan’s record on human rights.
Turkey will back Sweden’s NATO bid if U.S. keeps promise on F-16 sale
Turkey’s parliament will keep its promise to ratify Sweden’s NATO bid if U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration paves the way for F-16 jet sales to Ankara, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, according to Turkish media.
Erdogan said that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Sweden’s NATO membership bid last week in New York.
The U.S. administration is linking F-16 fighter jet sales to Turkey with Ankara’s ratification of Sweden’s bid, Erdogan said.
“If they (the U.S.) keep their promises, our parliament will keep its own promise as well. Turkish parliament will have the final say on Sweden’s NATO membership,” he said.
Menendez’s legal challenges
U.S. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez on Monday ignored calls to resign from his seat, denying wrongdoing and vowing to stay in Congress after prosecutors charged him and his wife with taking bribes from three New Jersey businessmen.
U.S. prosecutors said Menendez accepted gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for wielding his influence to aid the Egyptian government and interfere with law enforcement investigations into the businessmen.
Prosecutors want Menendez to forfeit assets including his home, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz convertible and $566,000 in cash, gold bars and bank account funds.
Menendez said he has worked to hold countries, including Egypt, accountable for human rights abuses and that the cash in his home was withdrawn from his accounts and kept for emergencies.
“If you look at my actions related to Egypt during the period described in this indictment, and throughout my whole career, my record is clear and consistent,” he said. He did not respond to shouted questions.
The probe is the third time Menendez has been under investigation by federal prosecutors, though he has never been convicted.
Menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez and the businessmen are expected to appear in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday. The charges Menendez and his wife face carry a sentence of up to 45 years in prison, though judges in these types of cases usually impose less than the maximum possible sentence.
(Reuters)
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