F-16 fighter jets sold to Turkey are being used against Armenia, says US Senator

US Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican serving on the Foreign Relations Committee, introduced legislation to block President Biden’s proposed sale of U.S. F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reported.

“The Armenian Ministry of Defense claims that on September 29, 2020, in support of Azerbaijan’s war to conquer the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a Turkish F-16 shot down an Armenian SU-25 attack aircraft in Armenian airspace. Turkey has stood closely by its Azerbaijani ally in its efforts to subjugate the region, providing combat drones, military equipment, training, and, if we are to believe the Armenian government, direct combat support. So our planes that we give to the Turks, the F-16s, are actually being used in another war with Armenia,” the Senator noted.

Paul added that the war in 2020 and Azerbaijan’s subsequent military operation in 2023 killed thousands and created a humanitarian disaster, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee, more than three-quarters of the population of that region.

Paul’s resolution received bipartisan support from senators; however, it ultimately did not pass.