In an extensive letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, ranking member of Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Robert Menendez, denounces the escalation of Turkish aggression in the eastern Mediterranean in a way that threats US interests and provocations against sovereign rights of Greece, Cyprus and other countries.

At the same time, he calls for the immediate imposition of CAATSA sanctions on Turkey, regarding the purchase and installation of Russian S-400 missiles.

In his letter Menendez express deep concern about recent actions by the Republic of Turkey that mark an escalation in aggression in the eastern Mediterranean in a way that threatens.

“U.S. ties with Greece, Cyprus, and Israel are vital for stability in the eastern Mediterranean, and the Eastern Mediterranean Energy and Security Act of 2019, which the president signed into law as part of the FY20 appropriations bill, sought to strengthen these connections”, he writes in the letter.
He adds that, in recent months President Erdogan has been threatening regional stability and U.S. policy interests by increasing aggression “against our Greek and Cypriot partners”.

As he mentions, the clearest manifestations of Turkey’s pattern of destabilizing behavior is its purchase of the S-400 air defense system from the Russian Federation, which severely threatened U.S. security interests in Europe.

“Before the purchase was finalized, Congress sought to work productively with the Administration to present Turkey with a NATO-compatible option of the U.S. PATRIOT missile defense system. However, Erdogan chose Vladimir Putin instead. Turkey’s choice calls into question Ankara’s commitment to the alliance – a bedrock of U.S. national security – and endangers NATO interoperability”, says Senator Menendez. He adds that the purchase of a $2.5 billion military system clearly constitutes a significant transaction with the Russian defense sector as defined in U.S. law, which triggers sanctions.

Source: CNA