Turkish president accuses allied NATO leader of lobbying against Ankara
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. “No more for me” Since he likes to deal with respected politicians “Those who keep their promises.”
“There’s nobody else in my book called Mitsotakis.” In a televised speech on Monday, Erdogan quoted the AP as saying. “We were supposed to have a strategic council meeting this year … I would never have a meeting with him because we are walking the same path as politicians who keep their promises, who have character and who are respected.”
Erdogan has accused Mitsotakis of sabotaging long-running territorial disputes and efforts to resolve disputes through bilateral talks, and has broken his promise not to involve third countries. Erdogan said the Greek prime minister had basically told the US government “Don’t dare give Turkey F-16” When he lobbied against attempts to upgrade his regional rival’s air force during a visit to Washington last week.
Last Monday, Mitsotakis demanded that U.S. lawmakers “The last thing NATO needs at a time when our focus is on overcoming Russia’s aggression is another source of instability in NATO’s southeast.”
Turkey had previously been banned from the US F-35 program after buying the S-400 defense system from Russia and was dropped despite warnings from Washington. Since then, Ankara has been stuck with an old F-16 fleet that is now hoping to be upgraded and supplemented with new aircraft.
Greece has expressed concern over plans to upgrade Turkey’s fighter jet fleet, accusing Ankara of endangering security in the eastern Mediterranean. Over the past few years, Greece and Turkey have repeatedly accused each other of violating airspace.
Ankara has lobbied for re-entry into the F-35 program, threatening to unilaterally include Finland and Sweden in NATO in the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
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