His position is that he will not approve the sale of fighters F-16 in Turkey repeated the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Robert Menendezwho called on Ankara to abandon its aggressive stance.

Speaking to Mega TV, Mr Menendez said the sale could be completed “if and only if Turkey abandons its aggressive stance towards the Greek Republic and Cyprus, as well as other actions in the Eastern Mediterranean that contrary to our national interests and our national interests.” security”.

In particular, he stressed that “I would like Turkey to be different from what it is under the leadership of President Erdogan. To be a reliable ally in NATO, to abide by international rules, not to be aggressive towards neighbors, not to arrest or imprison journalists and lawyers. You should not suddenly declare one of your main political opponents guilty, disqualify him from the elections, and so on. So in that context, I am against selling the F-16 because, after all, the reality is that we haven’t seen Erdogan’s Turkey live up to those expectations.”

He added: “What we have seen is Turkey threatening another NATO member, the Hellenic Republic, and threatening it without justification, without reason. So, in my opinion, it would be problematic to sell military equipment when she takes such actions and when she clearly shows her intentions over and over again. It is possible that the Biden administration will use my stance on the sale as leverage to force Turkey to behave differently, and if that happens, then so be it, it could be a positive development. But right now, I intend to continue doing what I promised, which is to disapprove of the sale. Accordingly, I will not be approving the sale at this time.”

Mr. Menendez called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rhetoric outrageous, citing the problems he faces inside Turkey. “This is unacceptable, but I think it’s just rhetoric,” he stressed. He mentioned that it would be a mistake for the State Department and NATO to support a policy of equal distance between Greece and Turkey and ask both sides to soften the situation since only one side is attacking.

“If the Hellenic Republic acted in the same way that Erdogan behaves towards Greece, then I would call on the Hellenic Republic to find a path to reconciliation based on international norms and international law, but this is not happening. Greece does not fly over Turkish airspace. Greece does not invade Turkish territorial waters. Greece does not threaten the sovereignty and security of Turkey,” he stressed.

However, he expressed his assessment that Turkey would not follow through on its threats of war against Greece, stressing that Athens and Washington were working together to create a stronger US-Greek defensive posture. He added that this cooperation sends a signal to Greece’s neighbors about the risk of military action, since not only the interests of Greece are affected, but also the interests of the United States.

He also said that NATO should discuss what would happen if the day came when one NATO member country attacked another NATO member country unprovoked. “It seems to me that the aggressor should punish, and it also seems to me from the American point of view that when you have two allies in NATO, but one is the aggressor and is clearly the one who caused the consequences, then the United States should stand on the side of the country, attacked,” he added.