A bipartisan group of 22 U.S. members of Congress sent a letter to President Donald Trump ahead of his forthcoming meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, urging him to raise various “topics of concern.”
These include Turkey’s F-35 fighter jet aspirations, Greece, Cyprus and Israel’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, Erdoğan’s personal alliance with Islamist terror groups like Hamas, and respect for political opposition and human rights within Turkey.
The May 7, 2025 letter cites Erdoğan’s antagonism toward neighbouring states, continued Turkish occupation of Cyprus and the use of U.S.-provided F-16 fighters to violate Greek sovereign airspace, Turkish violations of Greek territorial waters and Erdoğan’s threats to invade Greece and Israel. The lawmakers denounce this “unacceptable” behavior which threatens the security of a “vital European partner.”
In their letter to President Trump, the signatories argue that allowing Turkey to rejoin the F-35 program under these conditions would upend a delicate regional balance.
The signatories also criticize Turkey’s adoption of policies that support NATO adversaries like Russia. Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system led to its removal from the F-35 program and the imposition of U.S. sanctions.
“The presence of Russian technology within NATO is both a security and cyber threat to the entire alliance as S-400s are wholly incompatible with NATO and U.S. technology, including F-35s.” the lawmakers state.
In their letter, the signatories also warn of Erdoğan’s adoption of the “troubling revisionist policy dubbed ‘Blue Homeland‘,” which he uses as “his political and military justification” for dominating the Eastern Mediterranean at the expense of other regional powers.
Under this policy, Turkish vessels challenge Greek and Cypriot EEZs “at a worrying rate,” while Erdoğan claims natural gas deposits off the coast of Cyprus, and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Libya’s provisional government in Tripoli that “infringes upon the sovereign rights of Greece and Cyprus.”
Erdoğan’s relationship with the Hamas terrorist group also features prominently in the letter to President Trump.
Since the October 7th terrorist attack against Israel, Erdoğan has declared that “Hamas is not a terrorist organization; it is a liberation group,” while acting as “the chief patron of Hamas.”
Since then, U.S. lawmakers point out, Erdoğan has allowed Turkey to serve as the hub of the terror group’s global finances, equated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions with those of Hitler, announced an end to all trade with Israel, stonewalled any potential NATO cooperation with Israel, and even threatened to invade the country.
Erdoğan has also sought “closer personal and political ties with Hamas’s senior leadership,” has offered safe-haven to Hamas terrorists, has declared a day of mourning in Turkey following the death of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, and has given a U.S. Department of Justice-designated terrorist a public platform to incite violence against Israelis.
Fifty-one years after Turkey’s invasion and its “gruesome campaign to ethnically cleanse parts of the island, destroy religious landmarks, and kidnap and disappear Greek Cypriots living there,” Erdoğan also “continues to wrongfully and illegally occupy the Republic of Cyprus.” The signatories note how Turkey’s actions have been deemed illegal by UN Security Council Resolutions and condemned by the European Court of Human Rights.
The U.S. lawmakers also raise alarm over the recent and significant crackdown on political opposition within Turkey itself. Though Erdoğan “routinely rejects adherence to human rights norms or respect for political opposition within this purported democracy,” there is now deep concern about the arrest of the Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu—a move that will “further consolidate” Erdoğan’s power in Turkey.
Within just the past month, the signatories point out that Erdoğan has “raided the homes of 106 of his political rivals, banned protests, and used the police to violently suppress any public dissent.”
The letter to President Trump also mentions that Turkey’s anti-terror and disinformation laws have been used to curtail freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly. Earthquake aid from the destructive 2023 earthquakes has also failed to adequately address the rights and needs of people with disabilities, while violence against women and girls remains widespread in Turkey.
Last but not least, Erdoğan has expressed his desire to join BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, supports Islamist groups in Syria, annihilates the Kurds, facilitates genocide in Sudan, and boosts Russian nuclear industries.
While acknowledging Turkey’s potential strategic value within NATO, the lawmakers conclude that Erdoğan’s “personal and political agenda does not align with U.S. interests and values,” and highlight that “it is our collective responsibility to urge greater respect for international law as well as the rule of law within his own country.”
Cover Image Credit: Wikipedia
