Bob Menendez

US Senator and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, announced on Friday the introduction an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2024 that would extend the time required to renew the arms embargo on the Republic of Cyprus.

US President Joe Biden's administration will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in consultation with Congress, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday, a day after Ankara gave the green light for Sweden to join NATO.

US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez on Monday said there was a temporary "lull" in Turkey's "aggression against its neighbors" and said he is in talks with the Biden Administration about the hold he has on future US sales of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara.

Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Bob Menendez on Monday assured that Congress will ensure NATO allies like Greece will remain strong irrespective of other developments ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius this week.

US Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has approved the sale of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jets to Greece, adding the last signature needed before the deal can go through, Hellas Journal reported on Thursday.

A senior US senator who has long opposed the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey said on Tuesday he wants Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to take a "less belligerent" stance toward NATO allies and Turkey's neighbors before lifting his opposition to the deal.

The Special Court of Tirana will decide on Monday whether Fredi Beleri, the recently-elected ethnic Greek mayor of Himare in southern Albania, and his aide Panteli Kokavesi will be released or if their pretrial detention will continue, sources in the Albanian capital said on Friday.

The chairperson of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has reiterated his opposition to the sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey, saying "Turkey has not done enough to be rewarded in this way."

"I continue to be against the sale of F-16s," Senator Bob Menendez told state broadcaster ERT, adding that the Erdogan government needs to stop its belligerent behavior towards Greece.

The US Department of State announced Saturday it has decided to approve a small modernization package for Turkey's existing F-16 fleet.

The deal, valued at an estimated $259 million, is the first military equipment sale to Turkey in years and concerns avionics software upgrades.

Greek Americans are one of the few ethnic communities in the United States that is honored every year by the American president in a ceremony at the White House like the one held on Wednesday.