In a revelation about the rumors in Washington regarding Recep Tayyip Erdogan's next moves, the strong man of the Greek lobby in the US, Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), Eddie Zemenides, made a revelation today.
Speaking to the First Program and the program "The GPS of Current Affairs", Mr. Zemenides said specifically: "Yesterday it was circulated in Washington that Mr. Erdogan will do something big in the occupied territories on July 20." The prevailing scenario, he argued, is that the Turkish president may announce the annexation of the occupied territories, noting that there is the intention of the US side to send a resolution to the UN Security Council.
At the same time, he stressed that, after many years, the US has emphasized bilateral relations with the Republic of Cyprus and that for the first time, in the next two or three months, an American ambassador will be appointed to the Republic of Cyprus - as he said, this is a man whom the philhellenic senator Bob Menendez also trusts.
He estimated that if U.S. President Biden acted alone, he would not "give" the F-16 upgrade to Turkey "the way Mr. Erdogan wants" and commented that without a change in policy by the Turkish leadership, Erdogan will not get what he wants.
"We see with the amendment that the limit is six months of no violations, but will he? But this is very important, because we see that the Mitsotakis government is willing to talk with Turkey and Erdogan is the one who refuses," he added. Congress is therefore signaling, according to Zemenides, that by ruling out dialogue with Greece, Erdogan is at the same time putting an obstacle to a deal with the US on F-16s.
"Congress has always taken a tough stance, both under President Trump and now, against Turkey, both with the F-35 and now with the F-16s. Greece is close to closing the deal with the US on the F-35, as it has proven over the years that it is a reliable ally, it has shown its capabilities and America will invest in this defense relationship. Congress is sending a clear message to Turkey with the recent amendment that enough is enough, if you want to be an ally and get the F-16s we are not saying never, but prove to us that you are not only America's ally, but also in NATO and towards Greece," he added. Zemenides.
Erdogan has serious problems within his country, Zemenides also noted, with inflation officially at 76 percent, while there are analyses that say it has exceeded 120 percent. At the same time, in the polls it has fallen below 30% and although the opposition is more united, there are other problems there as well.
At the same time, he said that he "does not see" a deliberate warm incident with Turkey, but expressed concern that "with so many violations in Greek airspace, we have to fear an accident and where this could lead."
"These violations must stop and here America must play a role. Here other Greek-Americans are saying that if there is a hot incident, then America will come in. No, America's job now is to play its leadership role in NATO and make a hot incident unlikely. And here it is only Turkey's fault. Greece is not going over Turkey's territory, Turkey is going over Greece's and the president must be clear and say that this stops, if you want relations to continue, this stops," Zemenides said.
It seems, he added, that Congress has also sent a clear message to Ankara about any provocations in the Aegean and in Cyprus. In case of a hot incident, however, there are people who can intervene in the developments, influencing Turkey and they, according to Mr. Zemenides, are Jake Sullivan, Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, "because they have that ability."
The point, however, he reiterated, is that "e must stop the violations today, before there is a hot episode."
He concluded: "I think Mr. Biden, in order to secure Sweden and Finland, is using rhetoric that Erdogan likes, but let's see what his actions are. The US president and the State Department has not put any pressure on Congress for F-16s, even though they are discussing it, even though they are saying yes officially."
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