Expressing strong concern over the proposed sale of F110 engines for Turkish fighter jets, in an official letter to the chairman and ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Brian Mast and Gregory Meeks.
According to the Greek MEP, this development will fuel tensions and accelerate Ankara’s military rearmament at an extremely fragile geopolitical juncture.
In his letter, Mr. Farantouris calls on Congress “to take into account not only this specific agreement, but also its broader implications for the regional security architecture, at a time when efforts are being made to stabilize the Middle East and prevent new flashpoints of tension.”
The PASOK MEP points out that Turkey continues to act as a revisionist power, challenging sovereign rights and directly threatening EU member states and U.S. allies in the Eastern Mediterranean.
He further recalls that, for decades, U.S. foreign policy served to maintain a balance of power between Greece and Turkey, precisely because it was a cornerstone of regional stability and NATO cohesion. “Upsetting this balance will not strengthen the Alliance’s security; on the contrary, it carries the risk of new crises in a region of vital importance to the West’s strategic interests,” he notes.
In remarks made earlier in Brussels, Nikolas Farantouris called on the Greek government to take initiatives in the same direction ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7–8. In remarks yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump, in the presence of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, said he was going to do something that “will make Erdogan very happy,” hinting at the sale of F110 engines for F-35 fighter jets.
When asked if he was traveling to Turkey “with a gift” for the Turkish president—a question directly linked to the F-35 fighter jets and the F110 engines that Ankara is seeking to acquire—the U.S. president replied “I think so.”