U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson said Israel should halt its airstrikes against Syria, announcing his position ahead of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Wilson also commented on Türkiye-U.S. relations. Responding to a question about Israel’s attacks on Syria, he said he welcomed Tom Barrack, the U.S. president’s special representative for Syria, opposing the attacks. Wilson said Israel should not carry out such attacks.
Asked whether he supported calls for the Israeli government to end its attacks against Syria, Wilson said he fully supported them.
Wilson said U.S. President Donald Trump had given Syria an opportunity for reconstruction at the request of Türkiye and Saudi Arabia. Saying he believed Syria would succeed, Wilson added that this would benefit all countries in the Middle East.
Wilson’s reference to “Syria’s liberation” was understood to refer to the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s rule in late 2024. He said this was also important for other countries in the region, including Iran and Lebanon.
Wilson said he was grateful to Türkiye for leading efforts to liberate Syria, adding that Syria’s opportunity to achieve stability, peace and prosperity would benefit the entire Middle East, particularly Türkiye.
Wilson supports Türkiye’s return to the F-35 program
Wilson said cooperation between Türkiye and the United States had continued since the Korean War and that he was optimistic about efforts concerning Ankara’s possible return to the F-35 fighter jet program.
Wilson said he supported the work being carried out with Türkiye by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. He said cooperation between the two countries would contribute to “peace through strength.”
Asked whether he supported selling U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, Wilson replied, “Yes, I do,” and said he also supported lifting the sanctions imposed on Türkiye under CAATSA.
Describing Türkiye as a major ally of the United States and the United States as a major ally of Türkiye, Wilson said they wanted relations between the two countries to provide mutual benefits.
