Sweden’s bid can’t hinge on F-16s, John Sarbanes tells Kathimerini in an interview

Ankara must stop making Sweden's NATO membership conditional on the US agreeing to sell it F-16 fighter aircraft, according to John Sarbanes, a leading representative of Greek interests on the American stage, in an interview with Kathimerini.

In a keynote speech at a symposium on mental health and democratic agency organized by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and Johns Hopkins University in Athens, Sarbanes said Sweden's accession is the first step, but further changes must precede any arms agreement.

He insisted furthermore that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan must move away from the "Blue Homeland doctrine, stop overflights in the Aegean and restore human rights."

The toleration of provocative behavior in the Eastern Mediterranean weakens the Alliance and sends contradictory messages to foes and allies, Sarbanes said. Referring to the atmosphere in the...