Eleven members of the House of Representatives, led by Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis and Democratic Representative Carolyn Maloney, wrote a letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing their concern over reports of the F-16 sale to Turkey and said they are confident Congress would block any such purchase.

“Following President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s September announcement that Turkey will purchase an additional tranche of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, we cannot afford to compromise our national security by sending US-manufactured aircraft to a treaty ally which continues to behave like an adversary,” the lawmakers wrote.

“As long as President Erdogan advances his expansionist project in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey will continue to threaten our national security and the security of our closest allies in the region—Greece, Israel and Cyprus.”

“We urge you to act in our national interest and for the sake of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean by refusing to reinforce Turkey’s aging arsenal of fighter jets, and we look forward to receiving your response,” they added.