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Thirty-five U.S. Representatives pledged on Friday – in a bipartisan letter to President Biden – to “take every action afforded to us as Members of Congress” to block the sale of U.S. F-16 fighter jets and upgrade kits to Turkey, in light of the Erdogan regime’s repression at home and aggression abroad against Greece, Cyprus, Armenians and Kurds, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“Armenian Americans join with all our coalition partners in thanking Congressman Pallone for his leadership in checking Erdogan’s escalating threats of aggression against Greece, Cyprus, Armenians, and Kurds,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We express our appreciation to all who joined this bipartisan appeal and who support legislative initiatives to block the reckless sale of F-16’s to Turkey.”

In addition to the ANCA, the following U.S. civil society organizations are on the record opposing the sale F-16s to Turkey: American Friends of Kurdistan, American Jewish Committee, Hellenic American Leadership Council, In Defense of Christians, Middle East Forum, and PSEKA – International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus.

Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Hellenic Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) were joined by Greek-American Representatives Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Dina Titus (D-NV) in securing Congressional co-signers on the letter to President Biden, sharing their deep concern about the support he expressed for an F-16 sale to Turkey during the recent NATO summit in Madrid, Spain.

The Congressional letter states, “Turkish and Turkish-backed forces have utilized American-made weaponry and components during these incursions to commit war crimes, including purposefully bombing civilian targets like hospitals and schools in Iraq, Syria, and Nagorno Karabakh. They have also been used repeatedly to violate the sovereign territory of NATO allies and partners like Greece and Cyprus. These are hardly the actions of a committed ally to the United States and Europe.” The letter concludes stating, “precedent shows that Erdogan will not change his behavior if we continue to reward his efforts to undermine the NATO alliance. The United States must not provide any further support to Turkey’s military until tangible steps are taken to halt his destabilizing actions and violations of international law at home and abroad.”

In addition to Representatives Pallone, Bilirakis, Maloney, Pappas, and Titus, Congressional co-signers on the letter to President Biden include Representatives Karen Bass (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Charles Fleischmann (R-TN), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Susie Lee (D-NV), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), James McGovern (D-MA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Jackie Speier (D-CA), David Valadao, (R-CA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

The full text of the Congressional letter to President Biden opposing the F-16 sale to Turkey is available here.