[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E611-E612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

AMERICAN HELLENIC INSTITUTE LETTER TO PRESIDENT TRUM REGARDING TURKEY

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HON. GUS M. BILIRAKIS

of florida

in the house of representatives

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to include in the Record a
letter from the American Hellenic Institute regarding President Trump's
upcoming meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As one of
the co-chairs of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, I have advocated
for the rights of Greece and Cyprus against the intimidating actions of
Turkey. Since Turkey's Presidential referendum vote, Erdogan's
government continues to ignore and violate long-standing international
law and treaties--a threat to regional security and an impediment to
regional interests, stability, and prosperity.
As we have done times before, we must continue to condemn these acts
of aggression and renew our call for President Erdogan's government to
demonstrate to the international community that it is committed to all
international laws and agreements. Additionally, the United States and
our strategic regional allies must be better prepared to respond
quickly and forcefully to transgression of international law from any
nation including NATO ally Turkey through targeted sanctions and
foreign aid restrictions.

President Donald J. Trump,
President of the United States,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President: On behalf of the nationwide membership
of the American Hellenic Institute (AHI), I write in advance
of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to
Washington to raise the Institute's concern about how Turkey
is a significant force of instability. In recent months,
Turkey has elevated tensions in the Aegean Sea with NATO ally
Greece, threatened Cyprus' sovereign right to explore for
natural gas within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and has
infringed upon Cyprus' EEZ, and President Erdogan has
directed alarming rhetoric toward the European Union and its
citizens. In February, I wrote to urge the administration to
act to uphold the rule of law and to call on Turkey, the
provocateur of these tensions, to cease and desist with its
actions that have dire implications to U.S. security
interests. Now, AHI requests these issues, which demonstrate
the instability for which Turkey is responsible, to be placed
on your meeting agenda with President Erdogan on May 16.

Aegean Sea

Historically, Turkey has violated Greece's sovereignty in
the Aegean Sea on an almost daily basis. In 1996, Turkey's
claims to the Imia islets nearly led the two NATO allies to
war over the islands. In recent years, the Institute notes
Turkey's frequent and egregious violations of NATO ally
Greece's sovereignty in the Aegean Sea:
In 2014, there were 3,045 total violations of Greek
national airspace and Infringements of Air Traffic
Regulations (ICAO) that resulted in eight engagements with
Hellenic Air Force interception fighters, according to the
Hellenic National Defense General Staff.
On March 1, 2015, Turkey unilaterally issued a Notice to
Airmen (NOTAM), a move to reserve extensive airspace over the
Aegean Sea for military maneuvers that Greece protested. On
March 3, 2015, Turkey canceled the NOTAM thanks to pressure
from the U.S. and NATO.
On July 15, 2015, six Turkish fighters crossed into Greek
airspace 20 times--in a single day.
On February 15, 2016, six Turkish fighter jets and a CN-235
maritime patrol aircraft violated Greek airspace 22 times--
again, in a single day.
In sum, 2,573 infringements and violations of Greece's
airspace occurred in 2016
In fall 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
elevated tensions unnecessarily by publicly calling into
question the

[[Page E612]]

integrity of the Treaty of Lausanne. Now, on one day during
the week of January 29 to February 4, 2017, Greece's Ministry
of Defense recorded 138 violations of Greek airspace over
islands in the Aegean Sea, which had to be intercepted. This
is unprecedented. On the sea, Greek and Turkish ships were
involved in a ``faceoff' when a Turkish navy missile boat,
and supporting crafts, entered and violated Greece's
territorial waters by the Imia islets.
These Turkish provocations have caused Greece's Defense
Minister, Panos Kammenos, to state, ``The Greek armed forces
are ready to answer any provocation.''
President Trump, Greece's sovereignty in the Aegean Sea and
respect for the Treaty of Lausanne, both of which are in the
best interests of the United States, must be respected.
Greece must expend immense financial resources to defend its
sovereignty--upwards of $400 million a year--during an
economic crisis from which it is in the best interest of the
United States for Greece to emerge. Moreover, despite its
economic difficulties, Greece continues to be of vital
importance for the projection of U.S. strategic interests by
its geographic location and its strong, unwavering support
for NATO. As home to the most important naval presence in the
Mediterranean Sea, NSA Souda Bay, Crete, Greece has been
critical to the delivery of U.S. troops, cargo, and supplies,
providing access and extending the U.S. and NATO's reach into
the Middle East and North Africa. To illustrate, in 2015,
more than 70 U.S. Navy and NATO ships and vessels visited
Souda Bay and more than 2,830 U.S. Air Force and NATO planes
utilized the 115th Combat Wing on Crete. Also, more than 65
U.S. ships and more than 1,200 trainees utilized NMIOTC.
In addition, Greece is a top contributor to the defense
efforts of NATO, spending an estimated 2.38% of its GDP on
defense. Greece is second behind only the United States in
this regard.
Greece aspires to achieve complete normalized relations
with Turkey, however, the latter, as official policy,
continues to threaten Greece with war (casus belli) and
promotes territorial claims that are unfounded and devoid of
any legal basis. These claims disregard all relevant treaties
and agreements in force, including the 1947 Paris Peace
Treaty under which the Dodecanese Islands and adjacent islets
were ceded by Italy to Greece. Because the U.S. is a
signatory to the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, this Treaty is U.S.
federal law which the U.S. is bound to enforce. Turkey's
ongoing dispute of Greece's sovereignty in the Aegean was
reaffirmed by policy analysts following Turkey's National
Security Council meeting held in late March 2017, according
to a press report. The analysts observed ``. . . fiery
rhetoric emanating from Ankara is not just to win over a
domestic audience, saying that it underlines its core policy
objectives with regard to the Aegean and the Eastern
Mediterranean.''

Cyprus

In March 2017, the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned
Cyprus' research for natural gas within Cyprus' exclusive
economic zone (EEZ). In recent years, Turkey has violated
international law by practicing ``gunboat diplomacy'' in the
eastern Mediterranean with an incursion into Cyprus' EEZ.
This has led Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to express
concern about Turkey sparking a ``hot incident'' in the
eastern Mediterranean. He stated, ``I fear the period from
now until the referendum in Turkey, as well as the effort to
create a climate of fanaticism within Turkish society,'' To
further illustrate Turkey's provocative actions are ongoing,
Turkey issued a Navtex on April 19, 2017 that according to
one press report reserves ``an area inside the island's
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), off Famagusta, to carry out
seismic surveys between April 30 and June 30.'' The report
elaborates on coverage of the Navtex, stating it not only
includes Cyprus' EEZ, but it also extends into a part of
Cyprus' territorial waters. Adding to this development is
Turkey's intensified military presence in an area stretching
south from Rhodes to the coast of Paphos in Cyprus and the
issuance of three consecutive Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) for
military exercise over Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus.
Moreover, these threats in Cyprus' EEZ are an endangerment to
U.S. companies, such as ExxonMobil and Noble Energy, who have
been, or will be, working to explore for hydrocarbons in the
eastern Mediterranean.
The Republic of Cyprus has the sovereign right under
international law to explore and exploit its natural
resources within its EEZ. The United States has repeatedly
stated it supports Cyprus' sovereign right to explore energy
in its offshore areas. Cypriot government officials, such as
Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, have stated the island's
natural resources belong to all its people and that once a
settlement is reached, potential revenues would be shared.
Furthermore, regarding the Cyprus settlement talks, which
are at a near stand-still, instead of helping to provide
stability by promoting a just settlement supported by both
communities, Turkey continues to insist on antiquated and
obstructive stances. For example, Turkey's insistence the
Treaty of Guarantee allows for future unilateral Turkish
military interventions, which is completely unacceptable and
contradicts the governing principals of a European Union
member state. Moreover, Turkey refuses to withdraw its 40,000
illegally-stationed troops on Cyprus. The withdrawal of
Turkish troops would be a significant confidence building
measure in the peace process.
Meanwhile, Turkey's relations with the European Union are
at low-point. President Erdogan's consolidation of power
following the referendum vote of April 15 is of concern,
leading to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) to announce it will begin re-monitoring Turkey
and also leading some members of European Parliament to state
the EU will have to reassess its position on Turkey. In the
lead-up to the April 15 referendum, President Erdogan called
Europe the ``center of Nazism.'' This does not bode well for
the fragile EU-Turkey deal on the migrant crisis, which if it
falls apart, will have a detrimental effect on Greece, which
took the brunt of the crisis in 2015-16 with more than one
million arrivals.
Finally, AHI understands fully well that defeating ISIS
will be at the top of your agenda with President Erdogan.
However, the United States cannot depend on, or trust, Turkey
as an ally in this important fight. ``Erdogan long played
footsie with the Islamic State; his government apparently
helped arm, sell oil from, and open Turkish territory for use
by ISIS. More recently he has targeted the Syrian Kurds, U.S.
allies against ISIS,'' writes Doug Bandow, senior fellow at
the Cato Institute, an April 26, 2017 opinion piece. Bandow
concludes, ``In the case of Turkey, President Erdogan has
abandoned its long-standing affinity for the West.''
Moreover, in a 2015 article, Robert Ellis cited a UN Security
Council report that he states concludes: ``Turkey has also
provided the primary routes for arms smuggled to ISIL and the
Al-Nusrah Front, an Al-Qaida affiliate.'' Additionally,
Turkey only agreed to help after the Turks ``forced the U.S.
into a yearlong negotiation'' to use Incirlik air base to
strike the Islamic State, according to Wall Street Journal
commentary. As a result, policy analysts have openly
questioned whether Turkey should be a NATO member. To further
illustrate this point, Turkey undermined the coalition's
efforts to combat ISIS when it killed partner forces in a
series of airstrikes in Syria and Iraq on April 25th.
Therefore, AHI cautions that whatever future assistance
Turkey should grant the United States on ISIS must not come
at the expense of true and tried allies who promote and
advance U.S. national interests in the eastern Mediterranean
region.
President Trump, AHI's perspective on these pressing issues
are founded on the rule of law and are based on what is in
the best interests of United States security in the region.
Given the conduct and policies of the Erdogan regime, it is
essential that the U.S. fundamentally re-assess our alliance
and overall relationship with Turkey. We hope that you will
make this point to President Erdogan.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Nick Larigakis,
President.

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