Greek American Congressmen critical of Biden support for upgrade of Turkish F-16s
Two Greek American Congresspeople have signaled their shock at President Joe Biden’s support for the potential sale of US F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits to Turkey so it can upgrade existing warplanes, air-to-air missiles and radar equipment.
The Biden administration threw its support on Wednesday behind the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a day after Ankara lifted a veto of NATO membership for Finland and Sweden.
“It’s shocking that President Biden would advocate for the sale of US F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits to Turkey after hearing concerns of Turkish aggression directly from Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his visit to Washington last month,” Nicole Malliotakis and Gus Bilirakis said in a joint statement issued Thursday.
“During his visit, Prime Minister Mitsotakis discussed the repeated aggression and military flyovers being conducted over the Greek Islands at the direction of Erdogan and cautioned that any sale to Turkey would be used to continue bullying other smaller nations in the Eastern Mediterranean region, including Greece, Cyprus, and Israel,” the Republican Congresspeople said.
“As members of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, we remain strongly opposed to any sale of US military equipment to Turkey and will continue to express our concerns to our colleagues on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
“It’s incumbent upon Congress to stand together against aggression whether it comes from an adversary like Russia or a NATO ally like Turkey that continues to violate international law.”
Malliotakis, the daughter of a Greek immigrant, is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where she serves as the Ranking Member for the Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations and Global Corporate Social Impact, and sits on the Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment, and Cyber.
Bilirakis is the co-chair of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus and the Congressional Hellenic-Israel Alliance.
