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Senator Robert Menéndez attributes Turkey’s extreme aggression to the lack of a strong reaction from the US side. In an interview with ERT Washington correspondent Lena Argyri, Menendez said he was confident that the Turkish president would continue to test the limits and push the situation in the eastern Mediterranean as long as President Trump gave him a “green light.” With your attitude.
“I am convinced that Erdogan will continue to test the limits, because he does not face consequences. When he buys S-400 in violation of American law and against NATO interests and does not face sanctions, he thinks he can. When you violate international law and the territorial waters of Greece and Cyprus and there is no response, consequences or sanctions, you receive the message that you can do it. When you are ready to intervene militarily in Libya and nothing happens, you receive the message that you can do it. “Therefore, the lack of a strong American reaction gives Erdogan the green light to go ahead, because he has realized that we can criticize him but we will do nothing more,” said Robert Menendez.
The US senator attributed Erdogan’s decision to ignore Donald Trump’s call to de-escalate the tension with Greece on this attitude from Washington, which he even compared to a dog that barks but does not bite. “A member of NATO is violating the provisions on interoperability of NATO systems and there are no consequences. They told us about Halkban “don’t worry we will fix it”. Without consequences. By invasiveness in the Eastern Mediterranean, without consequences. The message Erdogan is getting is very clear, and when President Trump told him to back off in the summer, he probably thought there would be no consequences anyway every time he said “let me go.” And that’s what he did, ”he characteristically emphasized.
Senator Menendez also referred to the letter he recently sent to the president’s national security adviser to the president, Robert O’Brien, requesting that all internal documents, secret or not, related to the Trump-Ern relationship and communications be presented. to Congress. As he pointed out, the red bells that led him to this initiative were many. “Many bells had been rung. First, we see the statements made by the president himself about his intimacy and relationship with Erdogan. The way Halkbank was treated, the feeling that somehow the United States would not take legal action against Halkbank as required by US law, is deeply problematic. President Trump’s failure to impose sanctions on Turkey for violating US laws under CAATSA on the purchase of S-400s is also deeply problematic. “And then you read some of Recent books and you’re trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, saying, ‘We have to find out what’s going on here, because these are America’s national security interests and those of our allies in the region.
When asked if he considered that the deadline of September 30 established by the White House for the delivery of all relevant documents and materials would be respected, he said there was no other option as Congress and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee oversee its foreign policy. UNITED STATES. “I have no news from the White House at this time. We expect them to be in full compliance by September 30. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee oversees foreign policy. Congress has an oversight role in the conduct of foreign policy. All of it. what’s happening has to do with US foreign policy in the eastern Mediterranean vis-à-vis the US and Turkey. So I hope the White House will fully comply. “
Moving on, Mr. Menendez also touched on the exploratory contacts, saying that he has earned the image that Kyriakos Mitsotakis really wants to live in peace with his neighbors in Turkey, while standing firm in protecting the sovereign rights of Greece. “So I hope that such development (exploratory talks) will produce positive results.” There is no reason for Turkey to wield the sword of military commitment and violation of international law, “he said.
When asked what message Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo’s visit to Greece sends to Turkey and what it means for Greek-American relations in general, Menéndez emphasized the key role that the draft law on Energy Security and Cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean plays. role of our country.
He said: “I am pleased to note that Minister Pompeo is implementing the law that I helped pass, the Law on Energy Security and Cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean. There are several provisions of this law, such as the lifting of the arms embargo on Cyprus, which was envisaged by law. I am glad they did. I am glad to see that we are strengthening our cooperation with Greece, especially in relation to our common defense strategic interests. All we can do to make energy in the region a catalyst of developments and be economically profitable for Greece and Cyprus. And at the same time become a differentiator for Europe to move away from Russia, which is the main energy supplier. “All these are positive developments and are due to the law of the Eastern Mediterranean that Congress approved and we signed into law “.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
