James Risch Questions Kimberly Guilfoyle About Tensions Between Turkey And Greece

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During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on Wednesday, Sen. James Risch (R-ID) asked President Trump's nominee to be Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle about tensions between Turkey and Greece.

Transcript

00:00address that crisis. So thank you very much. Thank you, Senator.

00:05Senator Risch. Thank you. Ms. Guilfoyle, I want to drill down a little bit more into the

00:10issues between Greece and Turkey. Certainly. They're both NATO allies, and I have to tell

00:18you, I've started to use that word pretty advisedly when it comes to Turkey. I fought

00:24with them. I was led the charge to get Sweden and Finland into NATO, and it was incredibly

00:33frustrating. Turkey was using its power, because everything has to be done unanimously in NATO,

00:43to keep them out, and it was a huge fight. And the other thing, as far as Turkey's concerned,

00:49I'm the one that put the hold on the F-35s. The F-35s they bought and paid for are still

00:54sitting in the United States, because I've got a hold on them. And I'm going to continue

00:57to have that hold for a lot of different reasons. But the relationship between Greece and Turkey

01:03doesn't get nearly the play in the media here that actually exists. I wind up dealing with

01:09it all the time because I'm chairman of the committee. One of the things I'm particularly

01:15interested in is the argument they're having and the fight they've been having for a long

01:20time over a territorial dispute. I don't know how familiar you are with that, but I'd like

01:27to hear your thoughts on that. And the other thing I'd like to hear your thoughts on, and

01:32I would recommend to you, is your predecessor, George Zunas, who's here, he and our ambassador

01:39to Turkey had a very, very close relationship. And I talk to them frequently, and they were really

01:48good at sorting out the issues between the two of them. So I would urge that you make

01:55that same kind of connection with our ambassador to Turkey. But your thoughts on that relationship

02:01and some of the things we might be able to do. The Greeks have been legitimately calling

02:08out for our help for a long time on a lot of these. And they're very difficult issues, obviously,

02:14between two allies. Your thoughts, please. Thank you. Thank you, Chairman, for that thoughtful

02:20question. It's one thing I think that's going to be a main and primary focus, in addition

02:25to some other issues, if I am confirmed to be ambassador to Greece. I do enjoy a very close

02:30relationship with Ambassador Beric in Turkey. I've known him for a very long time. And I have

02:35a very close relationship with Ambassador George Zunas. I think this will be pivotal to making

02:40sure that we are ready and able to exceed expectations on day one. I look forward to working with

02:46Ambassador Beric on this tough issue, in addition to following the direction of the President

02:51of the United States. Sir, as you mentioned earlier, Turkey is precluded by U.S. law that

02:58you put forward from actually acquiring the F-35s. There are choices that people and countries

03:05make in life. And Turkey has chosen to work with the Russians with the S-400s. I think

03:10it is imperative that we focus and point out the juxtaposition of a strong, steady ally who

03:17has answered the call and exceeded the expectations like Greece. And someone who, yes, is in NATO,

03:23but also needs to follow suit and be that same kind of strong and strategic ally. We don't

03:29have that at this point in time. And again, I'm speaking on behalf of myself as a private citizen.

03:34I look forward to getting more information, to getting deeper into the issues, following

03:40the direction of the President of the United States, and also working with my esteemed Ambassador

03:46Tom Beric to resolve some of these issues. But again, the big focus has to be, what are

03:51we going to do in that area? It is so imperative for national security and for the United States

03:55of America, and that we also protect those strong allies that we have in Cyprus, in Israel,

04:02and in Greece. And I will make sure that it is my mission objective and focus to do just

04:08that, if confirmed. Well, thank you. I think you and Tom are going to be a real

04:14team there, I really think. And I appreciate that. The issues that Turkey has are not irresolvable.

04:24They are resolvable if cooler heads would prevail. But with Erdogan, we just, it seems like it's going

04:32backwards every year rather than forward. So I hope you're able to turn that around. And your comments

04:38about the Greek community here in the United States couldn't be more right on. What a great

04:43community of people supporting Americana and Americana issues.

04:48Chairman, if I may, just to say that that has been very evident and it's been consistent for so many

04:53years. And they care deeply about this country. We have three million Greek Americans living in the

04:58United States of America and the diaspora and 10 million incredible patriots that live in Greece,

05:05that they want to work very strongly to help and support the United States. And their intentions are

05:09clear. Thank you for the question. Thank you. I'm out of time. But I just want to say, Mr.

05:13Bardos, the title of your job, having to do with UN management and reform, that's an oxymoron,

05:21if I've ever heard one. And I got a lot of issues there. Secretary Gutierrez comes to see me every

05:28once in a while. The first thing I do is drag out the charter and say, what are you doing about this?

05:32Because, man, it just isn't working. And we're pumping a tremendous amount of money into it.

05:38There's a lot of us not very happy about that. I wish you well. We'll work with you every way that we

05:43can. And my time's up. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Chairman.

05:47Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And congratulations to all of you on your nominations. I know Senator

05:54Booker covered some of the topics I wanted to, but I'm going to dig a little more deeply into those.

06:00So, Ms. Givefoyle, congratulations on your nomination. As you know, Greece is a critical

06:07answer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.

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