US blockade on Turkey: First ‘yes’ to the amendment to ban the sale of F-16

One of the two amendments to ban the upgrade of F-16s or the sale of new fighters to Turkey “passed” by the relevant committee of the US House and is now expected to go to the Plenary Assembly by the end of July to be voted on.

The amendment prohibits the sale of new F-16s, modernization kits and upgraded technology to Turkey and any entity associated with Turkey.

According to ERT, however, the amendment leaves open the possibility for the US president to override the restrictions if he certifies to Congress that doing so is in the vital national security interest of the US and provides a detailed description of the measures taken to ensure that F-16s are not used for overflights over Greece.

The amendment, which will be included in the budget of the US Department of Defense, states:

“The (US) President may not sell or authorize the export of new F-16 aircraft or F-16 upgrade technology or modernization kits under any authority under the Arms Export Control Act (22 USC 2751 et seq. .e.) to the government of Turkey or any agency or agency of Turkey, unless the (US) President provides to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Congressional Defense Committees that:

This transfer is in the national interest of the United States and details the specific measures taken to ensure that such F-16s are not used by Turkey for repeated unauthorized overflights over Greece.”

The two amendments have been filed by Congressmen Chris Pappas and Frank Pallon. In a joint letter, the Hellenic American Leadership Council and the American Jewish Committee had asked the American legislators to support the said amendment.

“Turkish violations of Greek airspace and armed overflights over Aegean islands have reached dangerous levels, creating a real threat to peace and stability in the region,” the letter said.

Source: ERT