F-16 attack of the Greek lobby in the US Congress: They sent a letter to Blinken

Six members of the US Congress wrote a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding that a possible deal on the sale of F-16s and modernization kits to Turkey should include some mechanisms.

According to VOA Turkish news, the letter sent to Blinken last week was signed by members of Congress from both political parties under the leadership of Congressional Greece Friendship Group co-chair Chris Pappas. In the letter written on July 8, that is, before the NATO Summit, the members of congress stated that they wrote the letter based on the negotiations on the sale of F-16s and modernization kits to Turkey in connection with Sweden’s NATO membership process.

‘US AND NATO INTERESTS MUST BE CONSIDERED’

Members of Congress demanded that the potential deal “include mechanisms to delay or recover these weapons if Turkey takes actions that pose a risk to US national security interests or the NATO security architecture.”

“While it has become clear that the administration is using all means at its disposal to pressure Congress and interested parties to approve the sale of the F-16 to Turkey, a potential deal must protect not only Sweden’s NATO membership but also NATO’s broader security interests,” the letter said.

Bob Menendez

Recalling that Turkey continues to have Russia’s S-400 missile defense systems, which led to its exclusion from the F-35 program, members of Congress said: “While we welcome the calm on Turkey’s destabilizing actions in the region, it is important to emphasize that the Erdogan government has not changed its policy.”

THE ATTITUDE OF THE ANTI-TURKEY SENATOR WILL BE DEFINITIVE

Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who is one of the key figures in the F-16 sale, said last week that he could make a decision on this issue within a week.

In his latest statement on the sale of F-16s to Turkey, Menendez noted that Sweden expects a move from Turkey, in addition to its NATO membership, and stated that it wants calm in relations with Greece to become a permanent reality. The US State Department is known to have held discussions with Senator Menéndez on this issue in recent weeks.

Turkey is demanding 40 Block 70 F-16 fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin and 80 retrofit kits from the US. Greece is also requesting to buy Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets from the US. Both sales require congressional approval.