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Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Lindsey Graham (RSC) threaten sanctions against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan unless Ankara forces Syrian opposition forces into a ceasefire with US-backed Kurdish partners United in the northeast of the country. , as the country mourns the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The senators said they are prepared to introduce sanctions legislation this week against Turkey if Ankara does not immediately agree to terms for a sustained ceasefire and a demilitarized zone.
“While Turkey has some legitimate security concerns that can be addressed, these developments are undermining regional security and the United States cannot stand idly by,” the senators wrote.
“…following the fall of the Assad regime, Turkish-backed forces have stepped up attacks against our Syrian Kurdish partners, once again threatening the vital mission of preventing the resurgence of IS.”
The US maintains about 900 troops in northeastern Syria supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the fight against the resurgence of the ISIS terror group. Turkey has long accused elements of the Syrian Kurdish forces of being terrorists, specifically the Kurdish PKK group.
The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), one of the opposition groups that took part in Assad’s takeover of the country earlier this month, as the day ended On Monday, a US-brokered ceasefire allowed Syrian Kurdish forces to withdraw from the northeastern city of Manbij.
Van Hollen and Graham said Turkey “has refused to extend the ceasefire, including an offer for a demilitarized zone along the border, particularly the city of Kobani.”
The Van Hollen and Graham sanctions propose mirror legislation introduced in 2019 that, at the time, helped move Turkey and Turkish-backed forces toward a ceasefire with the Kurds.
This includes sanctions against senior Turkish officials, including Erdogan, key Turkish banks, military transactions and energy sector activities in support of the Turkish Armed Forces. It would also require the US Treasury to move forward with overdue sanctions under federal law over Turkey’s decision to obtain the Russian S-400 missile defense system. And it would ban U.S. military assistance to Turkey, bar Erdogan and Turkish leaders from visiting the United States and demand reporting on Erdogan’s net worth and assets amid corruption concerns.
President-elect Trump has said that the US “should have nothing to do” with Syria, and during his first term sought to withdraw US troops supporting the SDF. During a press conference on Monday, he did not directly say whether he would try to withdraw US troops again, but said Erdogan is “someone I got along with very well,” describing him as very smart, very tough and seemed to suggest Ankara. would have control of the country.
“Well, nobody knows what the final outcome will be in the region… I think it’s Turkey… But Turkey did an unfriendly takeover without losing many lives.”
