Senator Nicole Malliotaki spoke exclusively to SKAI and explained why Congress should not allow the sale of fighter jets to Turkey.
The reason why Congress should not allow the sale of fighter jets to Turkey is explained by speaking exclusively to SKAI and Stavros Ioannidis h Greek American Senator-Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives Nicole Malliotaki.
Her position is also harsh on the Bakhceli map, which she characterizes as completely infuriating and offensive.
The interview:
Mr. Malliotakis, thank you very much for being on SKAI tonight, what is your position regarding the Turkish threats to the Greek islands and especially the “Bahtseli map”? Do you think it captures the real goals of Turkish revisionism?
I noticed that my father’s birthplace, Crete was part of this map that claims to be Turkish, which is completely infuriating and insulting and we need to ensure that Greece is equipped to protect its islands. Greece has every right to keep an army on its islands, especially when we see threats like this. //// So, of course, we are concerned about the protection of the Greek islands and I believe that Turkey should behave more like an ally in NATO. You know, sometimes they act more like adversaries than allies, and the Americans have to be careful, like others within the NATO alliance.
What is your position on the F-16 sale to Turkey and how do you think Congress will react to Turkey’s request?
Turkey carries out aggressive actions in the region, they make overflights with military aircraft over the Greek islands and also violate International Law and are involved in investigations in the Aegean threatening its relations with Greece, Cyprus and Israel. We will continue to inform our colleagues about why this sale is not a good idea, especially at a time when Turkey is acting aggressively.
Do you think they will use these fighters for more overflights and violations of Greek airspace?
Yes, since they are doing overflights today, why not do more using US fighters and I believe that is the problem here. It is not right to supply Turkey with this equipment when we know that they are already taking aggressive actions in the Aegean and the Mediterranean. All we will achieve is to encourage Turkey and that worries us a lot.
Do you think Turkey is a reliable NATO ally?
Turkey’s aggression against another NATO ally is a major problem, putting many countries in the middle of a potential conflict. And we know that Greece is also requesting military equipment, F-16s as well as other fighter jets and of course we want Greece to have the ability to protect itself but what we don’t want to see is any escalation. And what we think is that providing this equipment to Turkey, which is behaving badly in a way and certainly aggressively, is a major concern.
Meanwhile, Greek and American fighters are training together in the Aegean. Does this exercise reflect our strong military ties?
So many of the ideals and values ​​of our Republic are based in Greece and we must continue to strengthen our relationship. As a member of the Greek-American community serving in Congress and on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I work to ensure that we continue to deepen our economic cooperation, security cooperation, military cooperation as well as energy cooperation. And I think there’s a lot of opportunity there to grow and make sure that we expand that mutually beneficial relationship for the United States and Greece.
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