President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday threatened to level new sanctions against Turkey but held back from immediately punishing the Middle Eastern nation for its brutal offensive against U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish militias.
The potential economic penalties come just days after the White House announced it would allow the Turkish military to proceed with a planned invasion into northern Syria, where Kurdish fighters had aided American forces in stamping out the remnants of the Islamic State terror group.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during a briefing Friday afternoon that Trump would sign an executive order granting the Treasury Department, in consultation with the White House and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, “very significant new sanctions authorities that can be targeted at any person associated with” and “any portion of” the Turkish government.
“The president is concerned about the ongoing military offensive, and potential targeting of civilians, civilian infrastructure, ethnic or religious minorities,” Mnuchin said, and Trump also “wants to make very clear it is imperative that Turkey not allow even a single ISIS fighter to escape.”
Mnuchin emphasized that while “there are no sanctions at this time,” the president’s directive represents “the broadest executive authorities delegated to us,” later adding: “We can shut down the Turkish economy if we need to.”
The administration’s latest warning to Ankara might be viewed as a concession to members of Congress who have pummeled Trump this week with sustained, bipartisan condemnation of the dramatic foreign policy shift in Syria.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released a bill Wednesday proposing a series of sanctions against Turkey, and Trump tweeted Thursday that a possible American response to the military conflict would be to “hit Turkey very hard Financially and with Sanctions.”
Graham said in a statement: "The conditional sanctions announced today will be viewed by Turkey as a tepid response and will embolden [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan even more. The Turkish government needs to know Congress will take a different path – passing crippling sanctions in a bipartisan fashion.”
Mnuchin said Friday that Pompeo had been speaking “daily” to lawmakers on the Syria issue, telling reporters: “I think the message to Congress is, I know that people were contemplating sanctions. We’re on top of sanctions. The president will use them when necessaryPOLITICO
