The conditions tied to Turkey’s F-16 acquisition
Reliable diplomatic sources have told Kathimerini that Turkey’s acquisition of F-16 fighter jets from the United States will be made on the condition that they will only be used for NATO alliance purposes and not for overflights above Greek islands, according to a confidential letter from the US State Department to the four relevant congressional committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which will not be made public.
The letter reportedly stipulated that if this condition is violated, the State Department pledges to take the initiative to address the problem, and if the issue is still not resolved, the F-16 program will be terminated.
Something similar occurred regarding the purchase by Ankara of Russian S-400 missiles, which led to Turkey being dropped from the F-35 program in which it was a co-producer country.
Ideally, the Greek government would wish to see the letter’s content, as it is part of a more comprehensive agreement. However, the belief in Athens, mainly on the basis of assurances from members of Congress who are friendly to Greece, is that the letter’s wording is probably satisfactory.
Clearly, the wording used carries particular significance as it is one thing to refer to measures that the State Department “may take” in the event of a breach of the conditions and another to say that it “will take” specific measures.
It remains to be seen whether these conditions will be met by Ankara, not in the current phase of declining tension in Greek-Turkish relations, but in the future.
It is equally clear that the conditions imposed by the State Department have a primarily internal political aim, which is to secure the approval of the F-16 export program to Turkey from the US Congress, which has previously been highly skeptical of Turkey’s actions in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region and Ukraine.
