“These are not the actions of a committed and reliable ally,” the US lawmakers stressed in their letter to the US president
“More than: 2,377 times Turkey has violated the airspace of Greece”, complain, in their letter to Joe Biden, American MPs, who put… a “block” in the supplyF-16 from Turkey through bipartisan amendment which was filed in US House of Representatives.
The initiative of Democrats and Republicans has wide acceptance, both in the House and in the Senate, and links the release of the militants to Ankara’s delinquent behavior in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.
In fact, in a letter to the American president, the senators ask that no new fighter jets be given to Turkey, since it uses them to violate Greece’s airspace.
“Erdogan’s regime has repeatedly used its military might to destabilize the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, the South Caucasus and North Africa. They have also been used repeatedly to violate the territorial integrity of NATO allies and partners, such as Greece and Cyprus. These are not the actions of a committed and reliable ally,” they point out.
“Greece is a very strong and close ally of the United States. We want to make sure that everything we do is in the interest of Greece and in the interest of peace and prosperity in this region of the world,” emphasizes Gregory Meeks, Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives while Lou Raptakis, Democratic Senator points out that “the government of Turkey does not show us that it is a good neighbor. Every day we see drones, we see Turkish aircraft violating the Greek border, the issue with the EEZ of Cyprus, the line they have built with Libya that reaches six miles outside Crete. This is not possible.”
In their letter, the senators highlight Ankara’s revisionist policy, remind Turkey that it still has the Russian S-400 missiles and warn of leakage of classified information from the upgraded F-16s.
“Your administration is seeking to promote the sale of new F-16s and modernization kits to Turkey. You should know that we will do everything possible as members of Congress to prevent it. The United States must not provide further support to Turkey’s military until tangible steps are taken to end destabilizing actions and violations of International Law inside and outside the country,” he underlines, among other things
“If the House says no, it’s over. If the Senate says no, it’s over. And Turkey still hasn’t given back the S-400 that the American parliament insists on,” Lou Raptakis clarifies.
The White House, however, clarifies that there is currently no progress on the matter.
Indicatively, White House Spokesperson Karin Jean-Pierre summarizes that “We have been clear about this. The discussion about the F-16s and Turkey has been going on for a long time. We discussed it several months ago. There is nothing new. The President asserted this effort. There is nothing new about it”
The bipartisan amendment filed in Congress
It is recalled that the cross-party amendment concerning the defense budget for next year and submitted to Congress having been signed by 10 members of parliament, led by Chris Papas, if approved, will place significant restrictions on the sale of fighter aircraft to the neighbor as prohibits the US President from selling weapons to a NATO country that has been involved in repeated airspace violations over the last year – violations of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a member of the Alliance.
In this context, the president should provide a detailed description of the specific measures taken to ensure that US weapons are not used for violations of the sovereignty of another NATO member.
The amendment could potentially be overridden by President Biden in the following cases:
A) Provided it proves to Congress that for at least six months, Turkey has not taken provocative actions against an allied country.
B) As long as it certifies that their sale is a vital US national security interest.
In the joint statement issued by US Congressmen Tina Titus, Chris Pappas, Charlie Crist, Carolyn Maloney, Frank Pallone, and John Sarbanes, they acknowledge that Ankara’s retreat in its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO is a welcome development. However, they remind that “in the last decade, Turkey has not been a productive member of NATO, nor a reliable ally of the US” and point out that there are still too many outstanding issues, which should not allow the transfer of F-16s to Turkey.
In particular, the American parliamentarians emphasize in their joint statement that:
• Turkey remains under the CAATSA sanctions regime due to its acquisition of the Russian S-400 system. The specific legislation does not allow the government to sell a first-line defense system to a country under sanctions.
• Turkey has engaged in a series of competitive actions in the Aegean, both with systematic violations of Greek airspace and with overflights over the Greek islands.
• The sale and upgrade of the F-16s violated the US Arms Export Control Act, which only allows the transfer of equipment for legitimate self-defense operations. Given that the F-16s may be used both in the Aegean and against the Kurds in Northern Syria, the MPs consider that the necessary conditions provided by the legislation are not met.
• The US government has not provided information on how it is working to stop Turkey from these hostile actions against a US ally (Greece).
The Letter of the Deputies in detail
On June 30, President Biden confirmed his intentions to proceed with the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. In his remarks, he noted that before proceeding with any arms sales and transfers, Congress would have to approve the request.
While Turkey’s backtracking on its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO is a welcome development, there are still too many outstanding issues not to proceed with the sale of F-16s to the Erdogan government. Over the past decade, Turkey has not been a productive member of NATO or a reliable US ally.
Turkey, specifically the Defense Industry Directorate, remains under sanctions through the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) as a result of its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system. The Biden administration has not provided answers on how Turkey would qualify to be exempt from those sanctions and how the administration would mitigate the risks of the F-16s co-existing with a Russian weapons system. After all, this is why Turkey withdrew from the F-35 program.
Since the beginning of 2022, Turkey has violated the airspace of NATO ally Greece more than 2,377 times, including 120 overflights over Greek territory. Turkey’s competitive actions in the Aegean, as well as its hostile attitude towards the Greek government, make it clear that the Turks do not intend to suspend these aggressive and destabilizing actions anytime soon.
If the United States were to proceed with the sale of F-16s, American-made warplanes would undoubtedly be used to violate Greek airspace. That would violate the Arms Export Control Act, which only allows the transfer of equipment for legitimate self-defense operations. Over the past seven months, none of Turkey’s actions in the Aegean in relation to Greece could be described as defensive, but rather intimidation. The US administration has not provided information on how it is working to stop Turkey from these hostile actions towards a US ally.
Finally, in addition to Turkey’s aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean, President Erdogan has announced that he is on the verge of a new invasion of Syria with the specific intention of targeting Kurdish forces in the North. Many of these forces have fought in the past and assisted US operations in the region. If Turkey were to acquire F-16 fighter systems, they would clearly be used in this new offensive against our Syrian Kurdish allies. The administration has not provided information on how it will ensure that these individuals, on whom we have relied in the past and may need to do so again in the future, are protected from US-deployed weapons.
Until the administration can provide appropriate answers as to how it intends to mitigate the aforementioned concerns, we will continue to oppose this arms transfer and do everything we can to ensure that these F-16s do not will be handed over to the Turkish government.
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