International

U.S. Congress has been championing the “we should punish Turkey” campaign since President Erdoğan’s bodyguards’ violent display against protestors in Washington in May 2017. Congress’ plans to sanction Turkey over the purchase of the Russian S-400 missiles seems to have been deferred for the time being due to President Trump’s general reluctance to push those sanctions and punish Russia for meddling in U.S. elections.

However, to punish Turkey, Congress is currently working on the Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. government to sanction foreign government officials implicated in human rights abuses. The priority of the Congress is to sanction certain Turkish officials as responsible for the ongoing detention of Pastor Andrew Brunson and other U.S. nationals, as well as U.S. Consulate staff in Turkey.

So because there is significant potential for new crises on a range other political files with Ankara, the U.S.’s efforts to strike a balance in Syria between Turkey and the Kurds could easily baffle.