About the efforts to prevent the sale of F-16 Fighter Aircraft to Turkey, Gus Bilirakis, Member of the House of Representatives of the United States, speaks to SKAI
The actions he has already taken to prevent the sale of F-16 Fighter Aircraft to Turkey, the Member of the House of Representatives of the United States, Gus Bilirakis, reveals.
Speaking exclusively to SKAI and Apostolos Maggiriadis, Mr. Bilirakis states that he is disappointed by President Biden’s attitude.
Question:
How did you see the meeting that President Biden had with President Erdogan in Madrid the other day?
Answer:
Well, I’m very disappointed with the result. Very disappointed. Greece is a great ally of the United States, and other countries in the region, like Cyprus and Israel, are great allies. And I don’t think Biden had that in mind when he made this decision with Erdogan. And of course all of this must be approved by Congress. I think it’s a very difficult track.
Question:
Now, regarding, as you said, the sale and upgrade of the F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. How do you see Congress responding to the President’s green light?
Answer:
Well, first of all, we should not sell any type of F-16, or any weapon, to Turkey or give it any upgrades to its current F-16s. We have done a very good job of escalating, essentially preventing the sale of the F 35 to Turkey. And, you know, I’ll tell you this. Prime Minister Mitsotakis did a great job when he spoke to members of Congress during the joint session of Congress a few weeks ago.
And I think Greece has even more credibility with members of Congress now. And then there is also Armenia and some of the surrounding countries, in a dangerous area, with Turkey in a position of power. So I believe we can resist. We will do everything we can to prevent this sale. Now, Turkey, unfortunately, has a powerful lobby in the United States. They gave a lot of money to members of Congress, but they also have influence in these administrations, particularly now in the Biden administration.
You know, under the Trump administration, I worked very hard to prevent this sale of the F 35. So we’re going to do our best. I have already spoken to some of the House leaders. Both in the leadership of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Armed Forces Committee. In high-ranking executives. I have a good reputation for working well with Democrats and Republicans. So we’ll do our best.
Question:
If the balance of power in the House changes after the midterm elections in November, do you think that passing such a bill in Congress might become even more difficult for President Biden?
Answer:
I would hope so. I would hope so. But this should not be a partisan issue. You know, we have strong allies, who are members of NATO. I know that Turkey is a member of NATO. Frankly, I think he should be kicked out, for a number of reasons. But invading another country, NATO countries, is unacceptable, as was done in Cyprus in 1974. But I also hope, that President Biden did not make this deal because they accepted Finland and Sweden, into the Alliance. Where Turkey withdrew its veto threat. And then President Biden accepted Erdogan’s request for the purchase of F-16s. That would be awful.
I’m not saying it happened, but we need to get to the bottom of it.
Question:
Do you know of any initiatives that the Greek-American lobby will take to prevent the sale in the near future?
Answer:
Yes Yes. Some of the Greek-American organizations that are non-profit organizations, not lobbyists, are making a grassroots effort. This is a very serious matter because our Greece is threatened by Turkey and maybe Erdogan may not act, but we cannot take any chances. That’s manic as far as I’m concerned. I know I shouldn’t say this, but I have to tell you the truth. And you know, I’ve always been assured, and the State Department still has that position that America, the United States of America will protect the sovereignty of Greece. Again, it is in the interest of the United States.
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