WASHINGTON, DC – “We welcome Vice President Mike Pence‘s announcement this morning, at the International Religious Freedom Ministerial, that the United States will impose sanctions on Turkey until falsely charged Pastor Andrew Brunson is free.
This strong stand represents a first meaningful step toward ending a century of U.S. appeasement of Ankara – on issues ranging from freedom of religion and the crushing of domestic dissent to its military occupation of Cyprus, denial of the Armenian Genocide, attempts to undermine Israel, and brutal attacks on the Kurds.
We encourage the White House to stop the reckless sale of F-35s to Erdogan’s undemocratic and increasingly anti-American regime, and urge the Departments of State and Defense to suspend any new bilateral cooperation until they have conducted a joint review of the current state of the U.S.-Turkey relationship and the future prospects for Turkey’s continued membership in NATO.”