Letter to The Hon. Donald J. Trump, President of The United States - Ahead of Partisan Meeting at White House, Foreign Relations Committee Democrats Urge Pres. Trump to Work with Both Parties to Sanction Turkey for Purchase of Russian S400 Missile System

Letter

Dear Mr. President:

As members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, we are writing to express our disappointment that your administration has decided not to engage with Democratic Senators with respect to the mandatory legal requirement that sanctions be imposed on Turkey in response to its purchase of the Russian S400 Air defense system. We understand you are meeting exclusively with Republican Senators to discuss the Administration's response to this unprecedented development which has raised bipartisan concern.

If you were to engage with Democratic Senators on this issue, you would learn that our members agree with many past and present members of your administration, as well as many Republican Senators. For example, we agree with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who on July 14th said the following to the Washington Post:

"The law requires that there be sanctions and I'm confident that we will comply with the law and President Trump will comply with the law."

We believe that a strong response to Turkish President Erdogan's acceptance of the Russian S400 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. 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.

United States foreign policy is most effective and durable when done in a bipartisan way. We agree with Secretary Pompeo and many Senate Republicans that sanctions must be imposed on Turkey in accordance with the law. We expect that you will follow the law and impose sanctions on Turkey without delay.

Sincerely,