New Senate Bill Would Sanction Turkey Over Syria Conflict
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., introduced a bill Dec. 20 to sanction Turkey if it doesn't renew a recently expired ceasefire between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
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Further Turkish or Turkish-backed attacks on the SDF would “risk the reemergence of ISIS, threatening the national security of the U.S. and the rest of the globe, the senators said in a joint statement.
The bill would sanction U.S. assets belonging to Turkey’s top officials, including its president, vice president and ministers of defense, foreign affairs, treasury, trade and energy. It also would block U.S. defense exports to Turkey's military and sanction those that sell to Turkey’s military or energy sector.
The Countering Turkish Aggression Act was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It's similar to a bill Graham and Van Hollen introduced in 2019 to sanction Turkey for launching a military operation in northern Syria against Kurdish militants (see 1910100049).