Letter from 20 American lawmakers to Rubio & Hegseth: Do not sell F-16s & F-35s to Erdogan, it is illegal

Greek American lawmakers, among others, explicit superior concerns astir U.S. nationalist security, calling connected the Trump administration to respect the instrumentality earlier proceeding with immoderate merchantability of American combatant jets F-16 and F-35 to Turkey.

The lawmakers, including Chris Pappas, Gus Bilirakis, Dina Titus, and Nicole Malliotakis, dependable beardown concerns implicit U.S. nationalist security, informing that the planned merchantability of American F-16 and F-35 combatant jets to Turkey runs contrary to U.S. law.

The radical of 20 lawmakers successful full sent a missive to the Secretaries of State and Defense, Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth respectively, urging the medication to grant ineligible obligations earlier moving guardant with the merchantability of the combatant jets.

They besides constituent retired that Turkey possesses the Russian S-400 rocket defence system, which is considered a superior menace to U.S. nationalist security, arsenic it tin show and analyse U.S. subject craft specified arsenic the F-16 and F-35. If the Russian strategy operates alongside American aircraft, it allows Russian quality services entree to strategical data, thereby endangering U.S. technology.

In 2019, Turkey was removed from the F-35 programme aft its determination to acquisition the Russian S-400 system, an enactment that violates the CAATSA law (Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) and has led to sanctions against Turkey.

The lawmakers stress that the merchantability of F-16 and F-35 craft to Turkey without the required certification from Congress would beryllium a wide usurpation of U.S. instrumentality and would undermine the authorization of Congress.

It is worthy noting that, successful Congress, Republicans hold a bulk with 219 lawmakers, portion Democrats have 215. In practice, this means that if the merchantability of American combatant jets goes earlier Congress and immoderate of Trump’s lawmakers disagree, it volition necessitate the enactment of Democrats successful bid to pass.