Congress has been blocking arms sales to Turkey for about two years, report says

Members of the US Congress have quietly blocked major US arms sales to Turkey for nearly two years in an effort to pressure Ankara to abandon its Russian S-400 missile system, news website Defense News reported.

According to the report, it is not clear how many potential sales have been frozen, but Defense News cited at least two significant deals that are incomplete: a follow-on contract for F-16 structural upgrades and export licenses for US-made engines that Turkey needs to complete a 1.5-billion-dollar sale of helicopters to Pakistan.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jim Rich and House Foreign Affairs ranking member Mike McCaul, have acknowledged they are part of the freeze, while House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel and Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Bob Menendez, are also part of the hold, according to sources cited...