The Greek-American organizations join their voices to express their opposition to the unconditional sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.

In the letter sent to Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken, the expatriate organizations list the anti-aligned way in which Ankara has used its existing fighter fleet. According to the letter, Turkish fighter jets have been used to destabilize the wider region, undermine Western interests in the fight against terrorism, and threaten key US allies and partners such as Greece and Cyprus.

In this light, the Greek-American organizations note that the consent for Sweden’s accession to NATO should not be the only condition that the American government will put on the table. As characteristically mentioned in the letter, “these efforts to expand NATO should not jeopardize the security of Greece, which has already approved the accession of Sweden and has played a key role in maintaining the solidarity of the West and in supplying of Ukraine with the means it needs to defend itself. NATO is an alliance based on principles and shared fundamental interests, not an organization that operates through transactional behavior.”

Given this, the letter reminds that the US has a duty as the leading power of the Western Alliance to ensure that US weapons cannot be used to undermine the security of its allies. In closing, the letter urges Anthony Blinken to make the inviolability of Greek territorial integrity and sovereignty a primary concern in any F-16 sale to Turkey.

The letter is signed by the organizations:

• Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC)

• Global Coordinating Committee of the Cyprus Race (PSEKA)

• AHEPA

• American Hellenic Institute (AHI)

• Cypriot Federation

• Cyprus Chamber of Commerce

• Federation of Chia Associations

• Pan-Macedonian Union of America

The Letter of the Greek American Organizations to Anthony Blinken

As representatives of the Greek-American organizations that have worked with the United States government to strengthen bilateral relations with Greece and Cyprus and strengthen US policy in the Eastern Mediterranean, we are writing to express our concern regarding the latest information that concern the sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey.

We know you are well aware of the list of transgressions Turkey has committed using American weapons, such as its 49-year occupation of Cyprus, undermining the anti-ISIS coalition by using F-16s to bomb our Kurdish partners in Syria, use of F-16s in Azerbaijan’s outrageous Artsakh war. However, we would like to focus on Turkey’s use of US F-16s to challenge Greek sovereignty, which has led to a record number of overflights and airspace violations in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, and the threat of war against Greece .

Several reports, including last week’s Politico article and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s interview with Fareed Zakaria, have created the impression that the Biden administration is willing to trade the sale of the F-16s solely on Turkey’s consent to membership of Sweden in NATO. With all that is at stake in the region and beyond, the United States can and must demand more.

As active American citizens involved in our country’s foreign policy, we urge you not to fall for Turkey’s blackmail strategy. Mr Sullivan said Turkey was “carving out an independent foreign policy”. Given that we cannot rely on Turkey to promote Western interests or security values, any “deal” with Ankara must ensure that those interests and values ​​are protected on a real basis.

Analyst Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute think tank recently argued that Turkey’s biggest threat to NATO is not continuing to block Sweden’s membership, but fueling ongoing threats of conflict within NATO. We support Sweden’s accession to NATO and believe that countries delaying it – be it Turkey or Hungary – should face consequences for any continued intransigence. But these efforts to expand NATO should not jeopardize the security of Greece, which has already approved Sweden’s membership and has played a key role in maintaining Western solidarity and providing Ukraine with the means it needs. needed to defend itself. NATO is an alliance based on principles and shared fundamental interests, not an organization that operates through transactional behavior.

We welcome the easing of tension between Greece and Turkey and the cessation of provocative overflights and violations of Greek airspace following the tragic earthquakes. However, we can’t ignore that all of that was undone just this week, as both President Erdogan and his new defense minister once again reiterated the “Blue Homeland” doctrine – which lays expansive claims against of Greek and Cypriot sovereignty and introduces revisionist visions in the region. Also, we cannot forget that since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkey has deployed its fleet of F-16s against Greece rather than in support of Ukraine. Finally, since the interests of NATO unity are constantly advanced as a justification for the sale of the F-16s, we cannot ignore that in violation of US law Turkey has purchased and continues to possess the Russian S-400 system, and that Ankara has effectively functioned as a mechanism to avoid sanctions by Vladimir Putin.

Any transfer of F-16s to Turkey must address Ankara’s continued bellicose behavior toward Greece and must also address Turkey’s destabilizing use of American weapons in the region, particularly as it relates to the use of such weapons to the continuation of the occupation in Cyprus. Turkey threatens the very principles, values ​​and interests at stake in Ukraine. As the leader of the Western Alliance, the United States must ensure that its weapons cannot be used to undermine the security of its allies. We urge you to make the inviolability of Greece’s territorial integrity and sovereignty a primary concern in any F-16 sale to Turkey.

We look forward to discussing this matter with you further.