Tensions grow in the White House since the finalistion of Erdogans visit to the United States, set to take place on 13 November. Senators have addressed a letter to the USA president, urging he rescind the invitation to Erdogan after former demands of cancellation in regards to the visit went unresponded to.
A letter has surfaced, dated 8 November, which had been jointly written by a bipartisan bloc of 17 House lawmakers and led by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel. In the letter, 15 House Democrats and two Republicans expressed “deep concern regarding the potential visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Washington.”
The letter continued, ” Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria last month “has had disastrous consequences for U.S. national security, has led to deep divisions in the NATO alliance and caused a humanitarian crisis on the ground.”
“Turkish forces have killed civilians and members of the Syrian Democratic Forses, a critical U.S. partner in the fight against ISIS, and displaced over one hundred thousand people from their homes in Northern Syria.
Touching upon the purchases of Russian armoury and the impact of Erdogans policies on Cyprus economically, the senators wrote “Domestically, President Erdogan has overseen a systematic rollback of democratic institutions in Turkey, concentrating all political power in his person, persecuting political opponents and peaceful protestors, and imprisoning journalists in shocking numbers.”
Concluding, the senators urged for the sanctions outlined in the Protect Against Conflict by Turkey Act, established on October 29, to be imposed.
The letter was signed by Eliot L. Engel, Gus M. Bilirakis, William R. Keating, Peter T. King, Adriano Espaillat, Susan Wild, Albio Sires, Ted Deutch, Colin Z. Allred, Jim Costa, Gerald E. Connolly, Jamie Raskin, Brad Sherman, Juan Vargas, James P. McGovern, Dina Titus, and Ilhan Omar.
Previously, senator Chuck Schumer of the state of New York, in his speech, said “Trump will host Erdogan in the White House. To be clear, it is very surprising that an autocrat who has killed and displaced Kurds, our partners in the fight against the ISIS in northern Syria, is being welcomed with pleasure.”
