“It was an expensive ticket for Turkey to enter the White House, as the Turkish President went with a shopping list worth billions,” Serres MP and New Democracy’s International Relations and EU Secretary Tasos Hadjivassiliou said in an interview with SKAI on Friday morning. He recalled that “Greece has already established its role as a reliable ally, with a lead in defence and energy.”

Hatzivassiliou recalled that Recep Tayyip Erdogan had not visited the White House for six years, and referred to the US president’s stance, saying that “Trump praised Turkey’s role in Syria, wants to overcome difficulties in the US defense relationship with Ankara, but at the same time sent sharp messages.” He made special mention of the “awkward moment” of Trump’s reference to election fraud, but also of the “positive reference to the Halki Theological School”, which he linked to the US President’s meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

The MP noted, however, that “the relationship is not a fruitless one” and listed the main thorns: “Erdogan’s statements on Israel and Turkey’s relations with Hamas; the dependence on Russian gas and oil, which can hardly be reversed immediately; Turkey’s relations with China; and of course the Russian S-400 missiles.” On the latter issue, he made it clear that “if Turkey does not find a convincing solution, it cannot rejoin the F-35 program.” As he said, even if there was a will of the US government, “the stumbling block is called Congress,” where “there are many members of Congress, even Republicans, who oppose strengthening the US-Turkey defense relationship.”
In contrast, he pointed out that Greece has already secured a significant time lead: “Even if Turkey theoretically rejoins the program, Greece has already secured its participation and expects the first F-35 delivery in 2028. We are already completing the F-16 upgrade, we have acquired Rafale and are launching the fourth frigate. These are elements that demonstrate our strong national defense.”

At the same time, he noted the importance of US positions in favor of Greece: “The so-called US Super Secretary of Energy, Mr. Doug Bergham, came to Greece just a few days ago, speaking clearly about our role in the energy security of the Eastern Mediterranean.” He stressed that Athens does not seek to exclude leaders from the White House, but “has ensured in recent years a strong presence and promotion of national positions both in the White House and in Congress.”

In closing, he criticized the opposition: “I saw in Italy, when the Erdogan-Meloni meeting was cancelled, seriousness from the opposition. Here, some people spoke of national defeat and humiliation. Unfortunately, these phenomena are a Greek prerogative.”