US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez said Tuesday that he wants Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to adopt a “less belligerent” stance toward Turkey’s NATO allies and neighbors.

“The important thing now is how Erdogan will want to move towards the future with Turkey. If he wants to change course from where he’s been, I expect to see that,” Bob Menendez told reporters after Erdogan’s election victory.

“If we have the same, or more of the same, like what we’ve seen, then I’ll still have the same positions I had before,” he added.

NATO member Turkey has requested in October 2021 to buy Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-16 fighter jets worth $20 billion and nearly 80 modernization kits for the aircraft it already has. President Joe Biden’s administration has said it supports the sale and has been in contact with Congress for months to get it approved.

However, he has faced backlash, notably from Menendez, over a range of issues, including Turkey’s refusal to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership and concerns over the jailing of journalists, other human rights abuses and Turkish overflights of Greek airspace. space.

“Sweden is only part of the equation. For some members, it can be the entire equation. Not for me,” Menendez said.

The senator said he has not heard Biden talk about Turkey since the president’s congratulatory phone call to Erdogan. Erdogan reiterated Ankara’s desire to buy the F-16s, while Biden told him that Washington wants Ankara to stop opposing Sweden’s NATO membership.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken yesterday, Tuesday, called on Turkey to immediately finalize Sweden’s NATO membership and denied that the Biden administration is linking Ankara’s approval of Sweden’s membership to the sale of F-16s.

During the informal vetting process of major arms sales, the heads of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee can block deals citing a variety of issues, including human rights concerns.

Menendez said Biden has assured him he will respect his positions.

Besides, the White House also announced yesterday, Tuesday, that the delivery of F-16s to Turkey will not be made in exchange for Sweden’s accession to NATO.

“This is not a condition,” said White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre.

President Biden has made it clear for some time that he supports the sale of the F-16 fighter jets, the spokeswoman added.

She argued that the sale of the fighters to Turkey would facilitate cooperation within the defense alliance.

On Monday night, Biden had given the impression that the sale of F-16s to Turkey was linked to the latter’s approval of Sweden’s accession to NATO. “I spoke with Erdogan and congratulated him,” the US president said. “And he still wants us to find a solution for the F-16s. I told him we want a deal for Sweden. So let’s do it.”