VILNIUS, July 11 (Reuters) - Washington will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in consultation with Congress, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday, a day after Ankara gave the green light for Sweden to join NATO.
He intends to move forward with that transfer," Sullivan told reporters, without giving any details on the timing.
Both Turkish officials and the Biden administration have rejected any suggestion that Ankara's approval of Sweden's NATO accession was being linked to the F-16 sale in the months of talks to address Turkish opposition.
Russian officials said Sweden's expected accession to NATO would have "negative implications" for Russia's security and that Moscow would have to respond.
TIMING UNCERTAINThe timing of both the F-16 transfer and Sweden's NATO entry remains unclear.
Persons:
Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, Joe Biden, Bob Menendez, Biden, Tayyip Erdogan, Camille Grand, Erdogan, Gerard Araud, Sweden's, Peter Szijjarto, Jens Stoltenberg, Steve Holland, Justyna, John Irish, Nick Macfie, Heather Timmons, Devika
Organizations:
U.S . National, NATO, Lockheed Martin Corp, Senate Foreign Relations, Democrat, Turkish, European Council, Foreign Relations, Twitter, Kurdistan Workers Party, EU, Monday, Finland's, Nordic, Thomson
Locations:
VILNIUS, Washington, Turkey, U.S, Ankara, Sweden, Lithuanian, Vilnius, NATO, French, Swedish, United States, Turkey's, Moscow, Hungary, Finland, Ukraine