Greek-American lawmakers blocked the sale of F-35 Turkey

The Greek-American congressmen opposed Turkey’s return to the F-35 program and prepare an appeal to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

In a letter, they warn of the risks associated with the possible reintegration of Turkey into the project, and urge the administration to maintain a rigid position.

The authors of the initiative were the members of the Congress Chris Papas, Gus Bilirakis, Dina Titus and Nicole Mallioleti. Now they are collecting signatures of their colleagues under the appeal, which should become an official message to the State Department.

The reason for the letter was the recent statements of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit, where he announced the beginning of technical negotiations with the United States regarding the possible removal of Caatsa sanctions. In the case of removal of Ankara restrictions, it can again participate in the F-35 program-the project to create the latest fifth generation fighter.

Legislators emphasize: Turkey’s return to the project without abandoning Russian C-400 complexes will be dangerous both the F-35 aircraft themselves and the US military secrets. This will weaken the American defense industry and hit the trusting relations with the allies who count on safety when buying American technologies.

“Sanctions must remain in force,” the letter says. The congressmen recall that the decision to introduce sanctions and the exclusion of Turkey from the F-35 program always had bicopary support and was respected under different presidents. They emphasize: Ankara has not abandoned the Russian S-400 for almost ten years and does not demonstrate the desire to respect the laws of the United States. According to the authors of the letter, the lifting of sanctions would now look like encouraging such behavior, quotes CNN GREECE.

“We demand that the administration observe American laws, maintain sanctions and protect national security.”

The letter was also supported by a number of influential organizations, including the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Armenian National Committee of America (Anca), American friends of Kurdistan, Christians, united for Israel (Cufi Action Fund), the Greek-American Council of Leaders (Halc), as well as the Middle Eastern Forum and others.

Thus, the initiative received wide support among both congressmen and among various public organizations advocating for strengthening American security and transparency in international cooperation.

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