House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel and Lead Republican Michael McCaul expressed their deep concern over Turkey’s actions under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In a statement, they said that Ankara’s practices endanger the NATO alliance, the region, democracy and the rule of law in Turkey.
“We are gravely concerned by the threat Turkey’s increasingly provocative behavior poses to our decades-long bilateral relationship, to the NATO alliance, and to the region more broadly,” the statement read.
They added: “While we continue to see real value in a strong US-Turkey relationship, its destabilizing actions need to be more strongly addressed and the United States must work with its European and NATO allies and partners to continue to use all of the tools at their disposal to demand that Turkey reverse course.”
The two lawmakers urged “Erdogan to put an end to Turkey’s provocative behavior so the United States and Turkey can once again enjoy a close and cooperative relationship built on mutual security interests, a strong commitment to NATO, and shared democratic values.”
The statement provided a long list of recent actions of concern by Turkey under Erdogan, including his acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, which “undermines the alliance’s collective defense pledge... and allows (Russian President) Vladimir Putin to continue to sow division in the alliance.”
The list also included Turkey’s military operation in northeast Syria, which “risked reversing critical gains by the United States and our (US) local partners in the ongoing counter-ISIS fight and exacerbated the existing humanitarian crisis. Even now, Turkish-supported groups in northern Syria are accused of committing egregious human rights violations.”
“In the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey has surveyed for hydrocarbon resources in disputed waters also claimed by Greece, a NATO member, and Cyprus, a key transatlantic partner, and EU member,” the lawmakers said.
The statement slammed Erdogan for openly hosting “Hamas terrorists in Turkey, including individuals designated by the United States for their terrorist activities.”
“At home, Erdogan’s government has undermined Turkey’s democratic institutions by consolidating his own power, undermining the independence of Turkey’s judiciary and rolling back the democratic rights and freedoms of the Turkish people, including by targeting locally-employed staff at US Consulates with baseless criminal charges,” the statement added.
Earlier this week, Washington slapped sanctions on Turkey for its acquisition of the S-400 system.
