NEWS CENTER - Senate approved law that paves way for imposing sanctions on Turkey.
U.S. Senate committee backed legislation on Wednesday to impose sanctions on Turkey after its offensive in Syria and purchase of a Russian S-400 missile system, the latest move in the chamber to push Republican President Donald Trump to take a harder line against Ankara.
The Republican-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted by 18-4 to send the “Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of ISIS Act of 2019” for a vote in the full Senate.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry described the latest initiatives in Congress as “a new manifestation of disrespect for our sovereign decisions regarding our national security.”
“These initiatives do not have any function other than to harm Turkish-U.S. relations,” it said in a statement overnight, calling on Congress to act with common sense.
Turkey, which has not wavered from its plans to buy the Russian system despite Erdogan’s recent visit to the White House, earlier vowed to retaliate against any U.S. sanctions over its purchase of the S-400 and said they would not affect its use of the Russian systems.