Incoming Senate Foreign Relations Chair To Look At Turkey F16 Deal

Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), the new chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters today that he will take a fresh look at a White House plan to deal to sell F-16 fighter planes to Turkey, but cautioned that, "it's beyond just one issue involved."

• Cardin: "I need to talk to the administration on a lot of these issues, because it's beyond just one issue involved, and I need to understand that."
• Cardin has taken over the role from Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) who stepped aside this week following a federal indictment on corruption charges. Menendez has long blocked the deal, which requires Congressional approval, on human rights grounds and bellicose Turkish behavoiour towards Greece.
• Reuters reports, "After Menendez's indictment was unsealed, [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan said: "Menendez being out of the picture is an advantage," and "Turkey should turn the senator's legal troubles into an opportunity to purchase the fighter jets."
• Completion of the F16 deal is largely viewed to a be key demand for Ankara to approve Sweden's NATO membership.
• Cardin's appointment to chair of the Committee may also have implications for the future of nuclear talks with Iran, another foreign policy position which Menendez long opposed.