Menendez to Trump: sanction Turkey for buying Russian defence system
Democrat Senator Bob Menendez and other Democratic Party members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have, in a 23 July letter, expressed their ‘disappointment’ that US President Trump ‘has decided not to engage [with them] with respect to the mandatory legal requirement that sanctions be imposed on Turkey in response to its purchase of the Russian S400 Air defense system.’
The letter, addressed to the President, notes that he is to meet ‘exclusively with Republican senators’ to discuss the government’s response to a development that raises ‘bipartisan concerns,’ and points out that were he to so engage, he would learn that the views of the Democratic senators were very much in line with those of their Republican counterparts – and senior members of the Administration, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
It says that a strong response to the missile purchase is needed, because without it the United States’ position within NATO will suffer, as will the strength of the ‘sanctions regime on Russia.’ US foreign policy is ‘most effective and durable when done in a bipartisan way,’ it concludes, adding, ‘We expect that you will follow the law and impose sanctions on Turkey without delay.’
