Head of the Greek lobby in the US: In Washington they say that on 7/20 Erdogan will announce the annexation of the Occupied

“I think that Mr. Biden, in order to secure Sweden and Finland, uses rhetoric that Erdogan likes, but let’s see what his actions are. The US president and the State Department have not put any pressure on Congress for the F16s, even though they are discussing it, even though they say yes officially,” said Eddie Zemenidis, executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), speaking on the First Program.

Mr. Zemenidis came to the opinion that if Mr. Biden acted alone he would not “give” the upgrade of the F16s to Turkey “as Mr. Erdogan wants”, he estimated that indeed without a change in policy from the Turkish leadership, the Turkish President would not he will get what he wants. “We also see with the amendment that the limit is for 6 months not to commit violations, but will he do it? But this is very important, because we see that the Mitsotakis government is willing to talk to Turkey and Mr. Erdogan is the one who he refuses,” he added. The Congress therefore declares, according to Mr. Zemenidis, that by excluding the dialogue with Greece, President Erdogan is at the same time putting an obstacle in an agreement on the F16.

“Congress has always taken a hard line both under the Trump presidency and now, on Turkey with both the F35 and now the F16. Greece is close to closing the deal with the US on the F35, as it has proven for years that it is a reliable ally, it has shown its capabilities and America will invest in those defense relationships. Congress is sending a clear message with the recent amendment to Turkey that enough is enough, if you want to be an ally and get the F16s we never tell you , but prove to us that you are not only an ally of America but also in NATO and against Greece” added Mr. Zemenidis.

Erdogan has serious problems inside his country, noted Mr. Zemenidis, with inflation officially at 76%, while there are analyzes that say it has exceeded 120%. At the same time, in the opinion polls it has fallen below 30% and although the opposition is more united there are other problems there as well.

Mr. Zemenidis does not “see” a deliberately heated episode with Turkey, however, he expressed the concern that “with so many violations in Greek airspace, we should be afraid of an accident and where it might lead”.

“These violations must stop and America must play a role here. Here other Greek-Americans are saying that if there is a heated episode, then America will step in. No, America’s job now is to play the leading role it has in NATO and to make the hot episode unlikely. And here only Turkey is to blame. Greece is not going over Turkish territory, Turkey is going over Greek and the President must be clear and say “these things stop”, if you want the relations to continue, they stop,” said Mr. Zemenidis characteristically.

It seems, he also said, that the Congress has also sent a clear message to Ankara about any provocations in the Aegean and in Cyprus. “Yesterday it was announced in Washington that Mr. Erdogan will do something big in the occupied territories on July 20,” Mr. Zemenidis pointed out. The prevailing scenario, he argued, is that he can announce the annexation of the Occupied, while he added that there is the intention of the American side to send a relevant resolution to the United Nations Security Council. At the same time, he noted that after many years the USA has emphasized bilateral relations with the Republic of Cyprus and that for the first time in the next 2-3 months an American ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus will be appointed by Mr. Biden, a man whom the Senator also trusts Mr. Menendez.

In the case of a hot episode, however, there are people who can intervene in the developments affecting Turkey and they, according to Mr. Zemenidis, are Jake Sullivan, President Biden, the Minister. Ex. Mr. Blinken and the Minister Defense Mr. Austin “because they have that ability.” The point, however, he reiterated, is that “the violations must stop today, before there is a heated episode.”

SOURCE: ERT