Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Jim Risch on Wednesday expressed his intention to continue to block Türkiye from acquiring F-35 fighter jets from the US, during the hearing proceedings for Kimberly Guilfoyle, President Trump's nominee for ambassador to Greece.

Risch said he was the one to block the F-35s and would continue this for several different reasons, he told the Senate. He added that the Greek-Turkish disagreements did not get the news coverage they deserved in American media. Addressing himself to Guilfoyle he asked for her opinion, as Greeks, he said, had been rightly asking for US help on these issues for a very long time.

The committee chairman also offered his advice to the nominee, noting that her predecessor George Tsunis - who was present at the hearings - and the American ambassador in Türkiye had a very close relationship. Risch said he often spoke to them and they were very adept at settling issues, which was what he encouraged Guilfoyle to also do with the ambassador in Türkiye.

In addition, Senator Risch also expressed his frustration with Türkiye on the issue of NATO membership for Sweden and Finland. He said he was 'incredibly disappointed' that Türkiye used its veto power to keep the two countries out of NATO.