Senators push resolution punishing Turkey
A bipartisan coalition of senators pushed a resolution Thursday imposing sanctions on Turkey in response to aggression against Kurds in northeastern Syria, but the effort may have lost some steam when the Trump administration announced Thursday afternoon that Turkey had agreed to a fiveday cease-fire.
Sen. Rob Portman told reporters Thursday morning that he would co-sponsor the resolution, which was unveiled Thursday by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Chris Van Hollen, D-MD.
“It’s a complicated situation. It’s a mess over there,” Portman said.
Shortly after the senators released their proposed resolution, though, Vice President Mike Pence announced in Ankara that Turkey had agreed to the temporary cease-fire.
After speaking to President Donald Trump about the cease-fire, Graham posted on Twitter: “I stand ready to continue working with the President to build upon this breakthrough. And I also stand ready to work in a bipartisan fashion to ensure this incursion by Turkey into northeastern Syria ends without further strategic damage to the United States.”
Graham said he would continue to build support for the sanctions legislation, arguing that the threat of penalties against Turkish President
Recep Tayyib Erdogan had successfully put pressure on his government.
The proposed resolution would impose sanctions on financial institutions that have facilitated transactions for the Turkish military or defense industry related to operations in Syria and bar U.S. military assistance for Turkey,
according to an outline Graham posted on his Twitter account.
It also would require the Trump administration to provide within 30 days a report “assessing viable alternative military installations or other locations” for U.S. forces and assets currently stationed at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, where the U.S. holds nuclear weapons.
Trump ordered U.S. forces out of northeastern Syria earlier this month, but Portman said the U.S. presence in Kurdish territory there had
been effective in maintaining stability in the region. Leaving, Portman said, creates a “vacuum” for U.S. enemies, including Iran and Russia, to establish a foothold in the area and allow Islamic State fighters to escape.
Portman also questioned whether abandoning a U.S. ally would “send a message” to current and future allies about the sincerity of U.S. commitments.
A bipartisan resolution condemning Trump’s troops decision passed the
U.S. House on Wednesday, although Republicans blocked a Senate vote on the resolution Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., said his preference is for legislation even stronger than the Housepassed resolution, arguing that the measure had some serious weaknesses.
The Senate resolution pushed by Graham, Van Hollen and Portman would require an assessment of the Turkish president’s net worth and restrict visas for top Turkish
government officials in the U.S., with exemptions for international business at the United Nations. It would require the administration to submit a report outlining a “strategy to counter ISIS resurgence, stabilize the region and secure detained ISIS fighters.”