A bipartisan group of senior U.S. lawmakers has called on Turkey to cancel its planned purchase of Russia's S-400 missile-defense system.
The resolution, which is nonbinding, calls on the U.S. government to invoke the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and impose financial penalties should Turkey go ahead with the buy.
"Turkey is a long-standing ally, but they face a clear choice. If Ankara buys Russian missile systems, the United States should immediately implement sanctions and boot Turkey from the F-35 program. Our bipartisan resolution should be taken as a clear statement from Congress that Turkey must choose: partner with Russia or its NATO allies. I hope Erdogan makes the right decision. The future of our alliance depends on it," top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul said.
"There are simply too many grave consequences to the national security interests of the United States. Turkey should cancel its acquisition and instead cooperate with the United States on the many areas where it is in our mutual interest to work together," the Republican Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy said.
The resolution was introduced by Representatives Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, and Kevin McCarthy, the chamber’s top Republican, as well as Engel and Michael McCaul, the top Foreign Affairs Republican, Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey and ranking Republican Key Granger, as well as Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and ranking Republican Doug Collins.
