The executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) explains procedural reasons, Eddie Zemenidisthe fact that the US defense budget bill did not include a provision clause prior to the modernization of the Turkish F-16s. Conversation with “K”explains why it’s not “finished”. menendez amendmentwhich in any case has the right to veto the US government’s defense agreement with Ankara.

He believes that the Turkey she will have to show signs of writing in her foreign policy in general if she wants to sit down again at the negotiating table with Washington. Therefore, he believes that a compromise option with the simultaneous renewal of the armaments of Turkey and Greece does not offer a way out: “in addition to Greek-Turkish relations, the US problem with Ankara also concerns many other issues.”

“It’s actually Senator Menendez’s amendment. The second amendment, by Senator Van Hollen, goes exactly in the same direction, just adding some extra Kurdish parameters in the form of a political message. In this case, the reason why the amendment was not included is predominantly procedural. It took the House of Representatives too long to take the necessary steps to pass the main bill, and it is now “going through” a process that should be completed by the end of the year, amid grumbling from MPs who want to shift the burden to a preliminary review. election campaign, election campaign ahead of mid-term elections in November. Therefore, not only a specific item was excluded from the bill, but also many other separate issues. It should be understood that the process is not over. On the contrary, everything is just beginning. In particular, we have two more stages in which the issue of approving the Menendez amendment will be decided. Firstly, the technical consultations, which are still ongoing – it is no coincidence that the Turkish Foreign Minister is outraged that they are not yet “closed”. Secondly, this must be followed by a notice to Congress, which may well raise objections and open a new round of proceedings.

– Exactly, there is a possibility that the amendment will still be adopted. The process must be completed by the end of the term of Congress, that is, by the first week of January. However, I believe that we will have the final picture a little earlier, i.e. after the midterms but before Christmas.

– It is true that Turkey is currently making great efforts. However, the specific issue arose purely for procedural reasons. In this case, it has nothing to do with Turkish lobbying.

True, the Biden administration believes that the relevant clauses tie its hands. Not only against Turkey, but also in the affairs of other countries. He wants to have as much flexibility as possible in managing defense policy.

– Republicans at this stage do not take a position on the merits. They say that they will position themselves as soon as they have an appropriate defense agreement in front of them, and they will act on its basis.

– Yes, he has the right to veto the implementation of the defense deal, if the time comes. More precisely, they can be vetoed by four people who are of concern to us in this case: the chairs and co-chairs of the Senate and House Foreign Relations Committees. In theory, the administration could bypass this part of the process and pursue its own policies, as Trump did. But Biden made it clear that he would only act with the consent of Congress.

Behavior change

– Such a scenario would not remove the fears of the Congress, which maintains such a specific attitude towards Turkey, not only because of the Turkish aggression in the Aegean Sea, but also on other issues related to the choice of Ankara: Russian S-400s in its equipment, obstacles to the accession of Finland and Sweden in NATO, close relations with the Kremlin, Kurd. Therefore, the question is more complex. Turkey should change its behavior anyway if it wants to negotiate with the US. Ankara is currently not considered a reliable ally of Washington. The US administration, however, is keen to keep the window open for this eventuality, whether it be Erdogan’s change of course or the changing of the guard in the Turkish government. However, it will be difficult to return to the bilateral cooperation of the past, based on the image of the Turkish opposition. The US is now holding a small basket of anti-American Turkey, just hoping for some improvement in relations.