Democratic lawmakers call for Turkey sanctions over S-400 system

Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee have urged US President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Turkey for acquiring Russian S-400 missile defenses.

“We believe that a strong response to Turkish President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s acceptance of the Russian S-400 air defense system must be delivered because, without decisive action by the United States, our position in NATO and the strength of our sanctions regime on Russia will suffer,” US Senators Mike Menendez and Chris Murphy said in a letter to the president on Tuesday that was signed by eight other Democrats.

“Without decisive action by the United States, our position in NATO and the strength of our sanctions regime on Russia will suffer,” they said.

“We also hope that Turkey can one day reorient itself to being a bridge between the East and West and return to being a constructive member of NATO that respects human rights and democratic principles.”