Republican and Democratic US lawmakers said on Thursday they would keep up their push for tougher sanctions on Turkey over its offensive in Syria even as a five-day ceasefire was announced.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) announced legislation that would impose "crippling" sanctions on the government in Ankara shortly before US Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey had agreed to a pause to let Kurdish forces withdraw from a "safe zone."
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The bill would target Turkish officials, end US military cooperation with the NATO ally and mandate sanctions over Turkey's purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system.
Leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees also unveiled sanctions measures with bipartisan support on Thursday, with many of the same provisions.
"Turkey has legitimate national security concerns within Syria but they cannot be met by invasion and force of arms," Graham said in a statement.
Graham predicted his proposal would pass the Senate with enough support to overcome a possible veto by President Donald Trump.
Representative Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was far too soon to consider abandoning the sanctions push.
"I'm glad there's a ceasefire. It's a good sign, but let's see if it lasts and let's see what it really means," Engel told reporters.
