U.S. Senate committee approves bill for sanctions against Turkey

The bill calls the US administration to sanction Turkey over its procurement of S-400 air defense systems from Russia.

A U.S. Senate committee backed legislation on Wednesday to impose sanctions on Turkey after its offensive in northern Syria and plans to buy a Russian S-400 missile system.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) calls for sanctions on Turkey is the latest move in the chamber to push Republican President Donald Trump to take a harder line against Ankara.

The Republican-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted by 18-4 to send the “Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of ISIS Act of 2019” for a vote in the full Senate.

The bill prohibits the transfer of F-35 joint strike fighter planes to Turkey. Washington removed Turkey from the F-35 program in July over the purchase of the S-400s.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, opposing the decision, repeatedly said that Turkey is not a customer, but a producer of the jets.