Congress: The sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey depends on its acceptance of Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO
ARK News… A bipartisan group of US senators on Thursday said that Congress cannot support a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey until Ankara agrees to Sweden and Finland joining NATO.
Sweden and Finland applied to join the alliance last year after Russia invaded Ukraine, but faced unexpected objections from Turkey and have since sought its support.
Ankara wants Helsinki and Stockholm in particular to take a tougher line against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey and the European Union consider a terrorist group, and against another group it blames for the 2016 coup attempt.
The three countries reached an agreement in Madrid on a way forward in June last year, but Ankara suspended the talks last month after protests in Stockholm in which a far-right Danish politician burned a copy of the Koran.
In a letter to President Joe Biden, 29 Democratic and Republican senators said the Scandinavian countries were making "full efforts and in good faith" to meet the conditions for NATO membership requested by Turkey, although Ankara says Sweden needs to do more.
The senators wrote in the letter: “Once Turkey ratifies the protocols to join (NATO), (Congress) can consider selling F-16 fighter jets.” Failure to do so will raise questions about this pending deal.”
This is the first time that Congress has explicitly and directly linked the sale of F-16s to Ankara and the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO.
The Biden administration has repeatedly confirmed that it supports the deal, and refused to link the two issues, but it acknowledged that ratifying the two countries' accession to NATO would facilitate approval of the sale process in Congress.
Turkey said it might agree to Finland's request to join the alliance before Sweden, but the Finnish president and foreign minister rejected the idea, saying that the security of each country depends on the other.
Of the 30 members of the Alliance, Turkey, and Hungary have not yet ratified the membership of the two Scandinavian countries.
In October 2021, Turkey requested the purchase of 40 F-16 fighters manufactured by Lockheed Martin, and about 80 sets of spare parts to modernize its warplanes.
On a visit to Washington last month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the issue of NATO membership should not be a precondition for the sale, and urged the Biden administration to persuade Congress to drop its objection.
Congress can block arms sales abroad, but it has never mustered the two-thirds majority in both houses needed to override the president's veto.
354
Russia denies reports that America offered a secret peace plan for Ukraine
ARK News… The Kremlin on Friday denied reports that CIA Director William Burns had offered Moscow a secret peace proposal involving Ukraine's ceding of a fifth of its territory to Russia, calling it a "phony".
Washington also denied the report published by the Swiss newspaper, Neue Zurischer Zeitung, according to which Burns secretly traveled to Moscow last month to present the plan.
Asked if Burns had traveled to Moscow or put forward a plan that would see Ukraine give up 20 percent of its territory, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "This report is completely false."
282
Developments that may contribute to major changes... An American researcher predicts what the year 2023 will be like in Syria
ARK News… The American researcher "Charles Lister" director of the Syria Program at the Middle East Institute called for doing something for Syria, expecting that the year 2023 in Syria would be a year of instability that could change the rules of the game in the country.
"The unique developments in Turkey, Russia, and Iran are likely to contribute to significant changes," Lister said, but "the most important dynamic is related to the economy, and in particular the situation within regime areas," according to "Foreign Policy."
He considered that the Syrian economic collapse is quickly getting out of the control of the regime, which no longer has any card to play to improve the situation, just as Iran or Russia are no longer in a position to help them save the situation, warning of a sharp and dangerous explosion in the country.
He pointed out that Russia's inability to reform the Syrian economy explains Moscow's quest for reconciliation between Ankara and Damascus to break the isolation of the regime's president, Bashar al-Assad, but he ruled out that rapprochement would push toward real normalization of relations between the two parties.
He pointed out that Iran's desire to obtain the price of oil by paying in cash had a catastrophic impact on the areas of the regime, as the prices of basic food commodities increased by 30% and the price of fuel by 44%, within three months.
Charles Lister is a well-known American researcher whose research has focused on terrorism, insurgency, and security threats at the sub-state level in the Middle East in general, and the Levant in particular. Recently, Lister has focused his work almost exclusively on assessing the conflict situation in Syria, and the formation of the counter-insurgency. The Syrian regime and its various jihadist components in particular. This required face-to-face contact with the leaders of more than 100 opposition groups from all walks of life in Syrian society.
419
Accompanied by "Hezbollah" members… A shipment of phosphate leaves "Khunifis" toward Lebanon
ARK News… A shipment of phosphate extracted from the "Khunifis" mines near the city of Palmyra, in the eastern countryside of Homs, left towards the Syrian-Lebanese border, accompanied by military vehicles belonging to the "Hezbollah" militia, on Friday night.
A military source said that 3 trucks, each with a load of about 40 tons of phosphate, left on Friday night from the "Khunifis" area and headed for Lebanese territory, indicating that five military vehicles belonging to the "Hezbollah" militia accompanied the trucks that headed to the border gate opposite the city of al-Qusayr, southwest of Homs, to enter Lebanese territory.
A media source said that during the past few days, militia members looted large quantities of oil from the wells of many areas of Palmyra and transported it with their own trucks towards Lebanese territory, with great military protection.
It added that the Iranian militias have imposed control over the major phosphate mines in Syria in general, and the areas of Homs and its countryside in particular.
329
The recent rains have damaged 49 camps in northern Syria
ARK News… The Syria Response Coordinators Team stated that the recent rains, which lasted for more than 48 hours, caused damage to dozens of camps in northwestern Syria.
In a report, the team confirmed that the number of affected camps reached 49, and the number of damaged tents reached 114, stressing that the rains caused damage to the internal roads inside more than 274 camps.
The rains led to the destruction of more than 11 tents and the destruction of many other tents inside the camps, and the rainwater entered the interior of 244 tents completely and 176 partially.
The rains caused the deprivation of 190 families of shelter as a result of damage to the internal furniture of the tents, while no case of collapse has been recorded for the housing units in the area, but some cracks appeared in a number of units and rainwater entered a number of them and large swamps of water gathered in front of them.
According to the report, during the monitoring of damages, it was noticed that there was a significant defect in the implementation of projects by organizations inside the camps, most notably the isolation and cleaning of roads, which shows the need to reconsider the feasibility of these projects.
The report pointed out that dozens of families who were provided with heating materials were unable to light the heaters for fear of suffocation or fires inside the tents, while thousands of families remained without heating due to the absence of projects.
It explained that the appeals made by the displaced periodically have become in vain due to the failure of the humanitarian authorities to respond to these appeals, and as a result, the displaced within the camps should expect that no kind of humanitarian response will be provided to deal with the recent damage or what will result from other storms during the current winter season.
329
Masrour Barzani receives the British ambassador to Iraq
ARK News... The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, on Thursday, February 2, 2023, received the British Ambassador to Iraq, Mark Bryson Richardson, and the internal situation in the Kurdistan Region and the need to hold elections was a major focus of the meeting.
Barzani stressed the importance of concerted efforts between the Kurdish parties in defending the constitutional rights of the Kurdistan Region.
The Prime Minister stressed the need to hold elections at an appropriate date this year and complete the legal procedures for the electoral process as soon as possible, indicating that the Kurdistan Regional Government is ready to provide all the requirements required for the electoral process.
The British ambassador agreed on the importance of overcoming all problems and obstacles that impede the electoral process for this year.
In another aspect of the meeting, the two sides discussed the need to solve the existing problems between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government on the basis of the constitution.
The two sides agreed on the importance of approving the draft federal budget law as soon as possible, in a way that guarantees the constitutional rights and entitlements of the Kurdistan Region.
The British ambassador also reaffirmed his country's support for the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region.
The meeting, which was attended by the British Consul General in the Kurdistan Region, Rosie Cave, dealt with ways to consolidate relations between Britain and the Kurdistan Region, especially in the field of economy, exporting the region's agricultural crops to global markets, and developing the energy sector.
481
The PYD administration imposes taxes on shop owners in Qamishlo
ARK News… In light of the difficult conditions that the citizens of Syrian Kurdistan live in, the PYD administration continues its policy of imposing taxes.
A private source told ARK News that the PYD administration imposed a tax on shop owners in the city of Qamishlo, under the pretext of rebuilding the building that collapsed in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Aleppo.
The source stated that a tax of 100,000 Syrian pounds is being taken without giving any receipt.
268
Amouda Locality of ENKS holds its regular meeting.
ARK News... Amouda locality of the Kurdish National Council in Syria, on Thursday 2-2-2023, held its regular meeting.
The members discussed the organizational situation as well as the local preparations to revive the Kurdish national events for the month of March.
The members of the council focused their discussion on the work of the committees formed by the municipality
257
حواس عكيد: التقارب #التركي مع #النظام_السوري لا يخدم الشعب السوري
«الكونغرس»: بيع مقاتلات «إف - 16» لتركيا رهن بقبولها انضمام السويد وفنلندا لـ«الناتو»
قالت مجموعة من أعضاء مجلس الشيوخ الأميركي تنتمي للحزبين الجمهوري والديمقراطي، اليوم (الخميس)، إن «الكونغرس» لا يمكنه تأييد بيع طائرات مقاتلة من طراز «إف - 16» لتركيا بقيمة 20 مليار دولار حتى توافق أنقرة على انضمام السويد وفنلندا لحلف شمال الأطلسي.
وتقدمت السويد وفنلندا، العام الماضي، بطلب الانضمام للحلف بعد غزو روسيا لأوكرانيا، لكنهما واجهتا اعتراضات غير متوقعة من تركيا، وسعتا منذ ذلك الحين لكسب تأييدها.
وتريد أنقرة من هلسنكي واستوكهولم على وجه الخصوص اتخاذ موقف أكثر صرامة ضد «حزب العمال الكردستاني»، الذي تعتبره تركيا والاتحاد الأوروبي جماعة إرهابية، وضد مجموعة أخرى تلقي باللوم عليها في محاولة الانقلاب عام 2016.
وتوصلت الدول الثلاث في مدريد إلى اتفاق بشأن طريقة للمضي قدماً، في يونيو (حزيران) من العام الماضي، لكن أنقرة علَّقت المحادثات، الشهر الماضي، بعد احتجاجات في استوكهولم أحرق فيها سياسي دنماركي يميني متطرف نسخة من المصحف.
وفي رسالة إلى الرئيس جو بايدن، قال 29 من أعضاء مجلس الشيوخ الديمقراطيين والجمهوريين إن البلدين الإسكندنافيين يبذلان «جهوداً كاملة وبنيّة حسنة» للوفاء بشروط عضوية «حلف شمال الأطلسي» التي طلبتها تركيا، رغم أن أنقرة تقول إن السويد بحاجة إلى بذل المزيد من الجهد.
وكتب أعضاء مجلس الشيوخ في الرسالة: «بمجرد أن تصدق تركيا على بروتوكولات الانضمام إلى (حلف شمال الأطلسي)، يمكن لـ(الكونغرس) أن يفكر في بيع الطائرات المقاتلة من طراز (إف - 16). وعدم القيام بذلك سيثير تساؤلات حول هذه الصفقة المعلَّقة».
وهذه المرة الأولى التي يربط فيها «الكونغرس»، بشكل صريح ومباشر، بين بيع طائرات «إف - 16» لأنقرة وانضمام السويد وفنلندا إلى الحلف.
وأكدت إدارة بايدن مراراً أنها تدعم الصفقة، ورفضت ربط المسألتين، لكنها أقرت بأن التصديق على انضمام الدولتين إلى «حلف شمال الأطلسي» سيسهل الموافقة على عملية البيع في «الكونغرس».
وقالت تركيا إنها قد توافق على طلب فنلندا الانضمام للحلف قبل السويد، لكن الرئيس الفنلندي ووزير خارجيته رفضا الفكرة، قائلين إن أمن كل بلد منهما يعتمد على الآخر.
من بين أعضاء الحلف الثلاثين، لم تصدق تركيا والمجر بعد على عضوية الدولتين الإسكندنافيتين.
وطلبت تركيا في أكتوبر (تشرين الأول) 2021 شراء 40 من مقاتلات «إف - 16» التي تصنعها شركة «لوكهيد مارتن»، وقرابة 80 مجموعة من قطع الغيار لتحديث طائرات حربية لديها.
وفي زيارة لواشنطن، الشهر الماضي، قال وزير الخارجية التركي مولود جاويش أوغلو، إن مسألة عضوية «الحلف» ينبغي ألا تكون شرطاً مسبقاً للبيع، وحث إدارة بايدن على إقناع «الكونغرس» بالتخلي عن اعتراضه.
ويستطيع «الكونغرس» منع مبيعات الأسلحة للخارج، لكن لم يسبق له أن حشد أغلبية الثلثين في كلا المجلسين اللازمة للتغلب على حق «الفيتو» الذي يتمتع به الرئيس.
296
