Statements – Turkey Out of NATO

"Turkey continues to side with terrorist regimes and countries that chant "Death to America" and threaten our allies. Erdogan should tread very carefully. America stands with Israel."

April 13, 2026 Read full statement →

"This deployment is a clear affront to Cyprus's sovereignty, a violation of U.S. law, and a reckless step that will only heighten tensions and instability in the region. Such actions are unacceptable and undermine regional security. President Erdogan must immediately reverse course and withdraw this deployment."

March 12, 2026 Read full statement →

"I strongly condemn Turkey's decision to deploy F-16s to Cyprus. The move is unnecessarily antagonizing and escalatory. This is yet another reason why Turkey is an unreliable ally and why POTUS should reject selling F-35s to Ankara or waiving CAATSA sanctions."

March 12, 2026 Read full statement →

"Nearly a decade later, Turkey still possesses S-400 systems and has shown no willingness to comply with U.S. law. This behavior cannot be rewarded. Lifting sanctions or allowing Turkey back into the F-35 program without first removing its S-400s would jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems."

August 7, 2025 Read full statement →

"As far as Turkey is concerned, I'm the one that put the hold on the F-35s, and the F-35s they bought and paid for are still sitting in the United States. I've got a hold on and I'm going to continue to have that hold for a lot of different reasons."

July 21, 2025 Read full statement →

"Despite the overall easing of tensions between Greece and Turkey, we are particularly troubled by the sudden uptick in violations of Greek air space with U.S.-provided F-16 jets in Ankara's possession. This behavior is unacceptable for a NATO ally and poses a continuous threat to the security of a vital European partner."

May 7, 2025 Read full statement →

"I am one of the four people that any weapons sold anywhere they have initially to come through us. And I can tell you that F-35 will not go to Turkey, and we will ensure that Greece continues the strategic advance that it has."

March 29, 2025 Read full statement →

"Turkey seems solely focused on advancing President Erdogan's neo-Ottoman ambitions. Greece best represents US interests in the region. Allowing Greece to maintain its qualitative and strategic advantage over Turkey is crucial, as it provides a deterrent to Turkey's historic aggression toward Greece."

March 5, 2025 Read full statement →

"Erdogan has exacerbated divisions within NATO's operations and security. Erdogan vowed to block NATO's existing and future cooperation with Israel. If this trend continues, the United States should consider steps to ensure Turkey complies with its obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty."

October 23, 2024 Read full statement →

"There is an urgent need for improvement on Turkey's human rights records, including the unjust imprisonment of journalists and civil society leaders, better cooperation on holding Russia accountable for its invasion to Ukraine, and on lowering the temperature in its rhetoric about the Middle East"

January 26, 2024 Read full statement →

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken the country down an increasingly authoritarian path. He has systematically marginalized domestic opposition, silenced or coopted critical media outlets, purged independent judges and replaced them with party loyalists and jailed scores journalists."

February 2, 2023 Read full statement →

"Once the NATO accession protocols are ratified by Türkiye, Congress can consider the sale of F-16 fighter jets. A failure to do so, however, would call into question this pending sale."

February 2, 2023 Read full statement →

"Turkey is an unfaithful ally. I don't think we should be providing advanced F-16 to Turkey, when they're refusing to co-operate with the rest of the NATO alliance. This is my personal view, but I think it reflects overwhelming majority sentiment in the Senate."

February 2, 2023 Read full statement →

"Erdogan's repeated attacks on our Syrian Kurdish allies, and continued cozying up to Russia, including delaying Sweden and Finland's NATO membership, remain serious causes for concern. As I've said before, for Turkey to receive the F-16s, we need assurances that these concerns will be addressed."

January 18, 2023 Read full statement →

"Turkey is a Member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but it isn't acting like an ally. The alliance ought to put Ankara's membership on the chopping block. Considering expulsion now will allow for the alliance to debate the pros and cons of cancelling membership."

January 16, 2023 Read full statement →

"To my colleagues here in the Senate, I'll close by saying — do not be afraid to stand up for American values in the face of Erdogan's aggression. The United States must take the Turkish President's actions seriously."

December 19, 2022 Read full statement →

"The United States must be clear: Any expansion of Turkey's ties to the Russian defense sector would be a grave mistake that would further endanger the security of our NATO allies and partners throughout Europe."

August 17, 2022 Read full statement →

"It is unacceptable that Turkey believes it can reap the benefits of NATO membership while refusing to commit to the basic principle of a cohesive interoperable alliance."

July 21, 2021 Read full statement →

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken the country down an increasingly authoritarian path. He has systematically marginalized domestic opposition, silenced or co-opted critical media outlets, purged independent judges and replaced them with party loyalists and jailed scores of journalists."

February 9, 2021 Read full statement →

"The idea that a strategic — so-called strategic — partner of ours would actually be in line with one of our biggest strategic competitors in Russia is not acceptable. Turkey is an ally, that in many ways is not acting as an ally should and this is a very, very significant challenge for us."

January 19, 2021 Read full statement →

"We are gravely concerned by the threat Turkey's increasingly provocative behavior poses to our decades-long bilateral relationship, to the NATO alliance, and to the region more broadly. We strongly urge President Erdogan to put an end to Turkey's provocative behavior."

December 16, 2020 Read full statement →

"The United States made clear to Turkey at the highest levels and on numerous occasions that its purchase of the S-400 system would endanger the security of US military technology and personnel and provide substantial funds to Russia's defense sector, as well as Russian access to the Turkish armed forces and defense industry."

December 14, 2020 Read full statement →

"The U.S. Department of Defense condemns in the strongest possible terms Turkey's October 16 test of the S-400 air defense system. We have been clear and unwavering in our position: an operational S-400 system is not consistent with Turkey's commitments as a U.S. and NATO ally."

October 23, 2020 Read full statement →

"We reiterate our insistence that the administration follow the law and impose sanctions on Turkey under Section 231 of the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act. Under President Erdogan, Turkey has shirked its international obligations and moved away from the NATO Alliance."

August 13, 2020 Read full statement →

"Why is Islamist Turkey a member of NATO? Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly dreams of restoring the Ottoman empire and is an Islamist with Islamist visions for the Middle East."

May 19, 2020 Read full statement →

"Turkey's Erdogan wants to create an Islamist caliphate in Syria, reestablish the Islamist Ottoman Empire, and is working with Al-Qaeda and other terrorists to achieve his goal. He wants to be the caliph in the new Islamist caliphate of his creation. Turkey's Erdogan is not our friend. He's one of the most dangerous dictators in the world."

February 29, 2020 Read full statement →

"Erdogan has been assisting ISIS and other so-called jihadists establishing the so-called Islamic Caliphate. He's a radical Islamist megalomaniac whose goal is to establish an Islamist Caliphate with himself as the Caliph — the supreme ruler."

October 30, 2019 Read full statement →

"Erdogan has been helping ISIS/AQ for years. He has denied this but is now openly using militias of "former" ISIS/AQ terrorists, exposing him for what he really is: a radical Islamist megalomaniac who wants to establish a caliphate with himself as the Caliph — the supreme ruler."

October 30, 2019 Read full statement →

"We will introduce bipartisan sanctions against Turkey if they invade Syria and will call for their suspension from NATO if they attack Kurdish forces who assisted the U.S. in the destruction of the ISIS Caliphate."

October 7, 2019 Read full statement →

"I have just authorized a doubling of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar! Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!"

August 10, 2018 Read full statement →

"We never wanted this bill to be necessary, but we warned the Turkish government that there would be consequences if it did not cease its unjust detention and harassment of U.S. citizens and locally employed embassy staff."

July 26, 2018 Read full statement →

"The signatories of this letter have concluded that other measures will be necessary to ensure that the Government of Turkey respects the right of law-abiding citizens and employees of the United States to travel to, to reside in, and work in Turkey without fear of prosecution."

April 20, 2018 Read full statement →

"We have a message for Erdogan: we don't need people like you visiting the United States anymore. Erdogan should never again be invited to the United States."

May 23, 2017 Read full statement →