Sanction bills from US Senators threatening Turkey regarding concerns over Syria
US Senators Chris Van Hollen and Lindsey Graham introduced a sanction bill against Turkey in the US Senate, citing concerns over northern Syria.
The Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham made a joint statement last night, announcing that they had presented a bill titled the “2024 Turkish Aggression Prevention Act” to the Senate, which calls for sanctions against Turkey.
In their statement, the two senators expressed the following:
- “Attacks by Turkey-backed forces on our Syrian Kurdish partners are damaging regional security and efforts to prevent the resurgence of ISIS.”
- “Today, Senator Graham and I introduced a bill that will impose sanctions on Turkey if they do not accept a ceasefire and a demilitarized zone.”
- “We want a united, inclusive, and stable Syria for all Syrians, and supporting our Syrian Kurdish partners is essential to achieving this goal.”
The senators had previously stated on Wednesday that they were ready to introduce sanctions against Turkey if Ankara did not immediately accept conditions for a permanent ceasefire and a demilitarized zone in the region. They added that the sanctions would be framed similarly to the bill they introduced in 2019.
Additionally, Republican Senator John Kennedy, in a speech on Thursday regarding developments in northern Syria, said, “President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hates the Kurds, leave the Kurds alone.” Kennedy, who highlighted the Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) role in the fight against ISIS and threatened Turkey with sanctions, also commented, “Mr. Erdoğan doesn’t like the Kurds, and I won’t elaborate on that, but Erdoğan has armed groups and tanks on the Turkey-Syria border, and our intelligence says he is trying to invade Syria.”
