US approves big jet engine sale to Turkey before NATO meeting

The US government has decided to move forward with selling dozens of powerful jet engines to Turkey, worth over $700 million. These engines will power a new Turkish fighter jet called Kaan, which is Turkey’s first attempt at building its own combat plane. The sale comes just weeks before Turkey hosts a major NATO summit, showing that the US wants to strengthen ties with Turkey despite some disagreements. Relations between the US and Turkey have been rocky lately. The US kicked Turkey out of a program for the F-35 jet and put sanctions on Turkey after it bought Russian missile defense systems. Turkey says these systems are just for defense, but the US sees them as a security risk. Despite these tensions, the US is still going ahead with the engine sale, which some American lawmakers don’t support.One key critic is a top Democrat in Congress, who hasn’t approved the deal yet. Normally, Congress would get a formal heads-up before such a big sale, but this time, the sale might happen quietly first. The State Department hasn’t commented on why they’re pushing ahead anyway. Turkey has been waiting a long time for these engines. Its foreign minister even complained a year ago about delays. Now, with the NATO summit coming up, Turkey might finally get what it wants. The summit itself is happening at a tough time for NATO, with arguments over who should spend more on defense and how involved the alliance should be in Middle Eastern conflicts.