Greek-American groups launched a campaign on Thursday to prevent the sale of F-16 fighter aircraft to Turkey after the Biden administration signaled that the sale would serve US national security interests.
The campaign follows the letter sent by the State Department to the US Congress in March according to which the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey would serve US national security interests and NATO’s long-term unity, particularly in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey made a request in October to the US to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.
The March 17 letter, first reported by Reuters, is signed by the State Department’s top legislative official, Naz Durakoglu, and is addressed to Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone.
The correspondence followed efforts made by 50 bipartisan lawmakers in February, led by Pallone, urging the Biden administration to reject Ankara’s purchase of the F-16s, over what they said was Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s lack of commitment to Nato and his “vast human rights abuses”.