The Honorable Marco Rubio -Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
United States<\/p>\n\n\n\n
September 29, 2025 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear Secretary Rubio,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firstly, we wish to respectfully note that the official name of our NATO ally is the Republic of T\u00fcrkiye. Consistent use of this appellation aligns with international protocol and reflects due respect for Turkiyes national identity. The primary challenge confronting U.S.-T\u00fcrkiye relations lies not with T\u00fcrkiye, but with biased narratives and limited strategic perspectives advanced by particular lobbying interests. Undermining T\u00fcrkiye weakens NATO, damages U.S. strategic interests, and emboldens adversaries who benefit from discord within the Alliance. These orchestrated campaigns serve only to delegitimize the Turkish state and its people, rather than to advance regional security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recent letters sent to your office urging opposition to T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s acquisition of F-16 fighter aircraft and the reconsideration of T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s rightful participation in the F-35 program are emblematic of this troubling pattern. The arguments therein are deeply flawed, selectively invoke U.S. law, and obscure the critical fact that T\u00fcrkiye remains one of NATO\u2019s most indispensable allies. The Republic of T\u00fcrkiye commands the Alliance\u2019s second-largest army, secures its southern flank, and has been central to operations from Afghanistan to Syria, from Libya to the Black Sea. Former U.S. Ambassador to T\u00fcrkiye Tom Barrack correctly described T\u00fcrkiye as \u201cour greatest ally in NATO,\u201d and Counselor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations Morgan Ortagus underscored that \u201cT\u00fcrkiye is one of the most important countries in the region and indeed the world.\u201d It is precisely this indispensable role that makes efforts to undermine T\u00fcrkiye so destructive to collective security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fixation on the S-400 issue grossly misrepresents both context and consequence. T\u00fcrkiye pursued this system only after years of being denied access to U.S. and NATO alternatives, most notably the Patriot missile system. To penalize T\u00fcrkiye while permitting NATO members such as Greece, Slovakia, Belarus, Egypt, Kazakhstan and Bulgaria to operate Russian-made S-300s -S400 India, Belarus, Algeria without consequence exposes the hypocrisy of such objections. Moreover, T\u00fcrkiye has ensured that the S-400 does not compromise NATO systems, and it bears reminding that T\u00fcrkiye had already invested more than $1.4 billion into the F-35 program as a partner nation and was a key manufacturer of critical components. Removing T\u00fcrkiye from the program has not only weakened NATO interoperability but also increased U.S. production costs\u2014an outcome that directly harms American taxpayers and defense workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is especially troubling that Members of Congress such as Representative Nicole Malliotakis, who has consistently advanced Greek government positions, present themselves as acting in the U.S. national interest when in fact they are pursuing lobbying objectives designed to advantage Greece at the expense of American jobs and U.S. strategic posture. By obstructing T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s procurement of F-16s and F-35s, these voices are weakening Lockheed Martin\u2019s production line, threatening thousands of American defense industry jobs and tricking down to hurt other American jobs, and undermining U.S. export competitiveness. T\u00fcrkiye remains the single largest buyer of the F-16 globally. To deny T\u00fcrkiye access to upgrades and advanced platforms is to deny American workers employment, and to push a NATO ally further toward alternative suppliers an outcome that would only benefit Russia and China. Congresswoman Nicolo Malliotakis not only seeks to block the F-16 \/ F35 sale to T\u00fcrkiye, but also appears intent on derailing the Turkish Airlines purchase of 223 aircraft from Boeing a move that would cost thousands of American jobs. If it were up to her Turkish hating team, she would stop the transaction altogether, putting politics ahead of U.S. workers and U.S economic interest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Selective outrage over T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s policies while ignoring far more consequential actions by other partners illustrates the double standard at play. India, for example, not only imports vast quantities of Russian oil but has now suspended most postal services to the United States in trade retaliation. Effective August 25, 2025, India Post halted parcel deliveries to the U.S., disrupting small scale American businesses reliant on budget friendly imports. Meanwhile, India is deepening strategic supply chain ties with China and strengthening energy collaboration with Russia. Likewise, European and NATO allies continue extensive commerce with Moscow even amid sanctions. Yet Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis and others remain silent on these issues while reserving their sharpest criticisms exclusively to our NATO ally T\u00fcrkiye. This is not the pursuit of American interests; it is the pursuit of Greek lobbying objectives under the guise of congressional oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, the Eastern Mediterranean is consistently misrepresented in these letters to you , sir. It is Greece not T\u00fcrkiye that has violated international treaties by militarizing Aegean islands contrary to the 1923 Lausanne and 1947 Paris Peace Treaties. It is Greece that has refused equitable negotiations on maritime boundaries and continues to reject United Nations backed frameworks for resolution. On Cyprus, T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s intervention in 1974 was not an \u201cinvasion,\u201d but a lawful act to prevent ethnic cleansing of Turkish Cypriots. Moreover, Greece, Athens Court of Appeals (Decision No: 2658\/79) concluded that it was indeed the coup by Greece not T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s military response to intervein to protect its Interest and Turks that was illegal. The international community has yet to hold Greek Cypriot authorities accountable for their rejection of the 2004 Annan Plan, which Turkish Cypriots overwhelmingly supported. To single out T\u00fcrkiye while omitting these realities distorts history and undermines prospects for reconciliation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is worth recalling that the United States itself speaks to Iran, a nation openly hostile to American interests, while allowing the normalization of Russia-linked transactions by partners such as India and the European Union. As Steven Witkoff observed, it is contradictory to resist constructive engagement with T\u00fcrkiye an ally that has provided Bayraktar drones to Ukraine, closed the Bosporus and Dardanelles to Russian warships, and brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative that prevented a global food crisis. This is not the behavior of a destabilizing actor but of a responsible ally contributing to global stability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for Israel, we once again witness a smear campaign suggesting that T\u00fcrkiye seeks aggression, a falsehood actively promoted by Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. It must be clearly understood that T\u00fcrkiye is not any other country in the region. Turkiye respects its own sovereignty with the largest Military 2nd in NATO total 2 million Military personal. Guided for nearly a century by the principle of \u201cPeace at Home, Peace in the World,\u201d T\u00fcrkiye has consistently sought stability. Yet, as President Donald Trump himself acknowledged, \u201cT\u00fcrkiye has a powerful military force.\u201d Like every sovereign nation, T\u00fcrkiye has both the right and the duty to defend its citizens and national interests. Should any state, including Israel, issue direct threats, T\u00fcrkiye will act decisively to safeguard its sovereignty. Malliotakis and her congressional allies are not advancing U.S. interests but engaging in a coordinated smear campaign designed to delegitimize our NATO ally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. Secretary, T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s partnership is not optional\u2014it is foundational to the strength of NATO and to the advancement of U.S. national interests. To deny T\u00fcrkiye the defense capabilities it requires is to weaken the Alliance, embolden adversaries, and betray the principle of solidarity upon which NATO rests. Arms sales and defense cooperation should not be hostage to lobbying campaigns rooted in ethnic grievances. They should reflect strategic necessity, alliance cohesion, and mutual benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Republic of T\u00fcrkiye has been, and will continue to be, a reliable partner of the United States. We urge you to resist attempts by special interests to derail this partnership lead by Greek Agent Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, to proceed with the modernization of T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s F-16 fleet, and to reengage T\u00fcrkiye in the F-35 program as a matter of strategic imperative to create more American jobs. To do otherwise would not only undermine NATO but also signal that American foreign policy is for sale to the highest bidder in Washington\u2019s lobbying corridors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Respectfully,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ibrahim Kurtulus<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Community Activist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Honorable Marco Rubio -Secretary of StateU.S. Department of State2201 C Street NWWashington, DC 20520United States September 29, 2025 Dear Secretary Rubio, Firstly, we wish to respectfully note that the official name of our NATO ally is the Republic of T\u00fcrkiye. Consistent use of this appellation aligns with international protocol and reflects due respect for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4131,"featured_media":824738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11047],"tags":[11009],"class_list":["post-824775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ibrahim-kurtulus","tag-marco-rubio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=824775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/824738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}