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TURKEY AND SYRIA

Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, When President Trump welcomes Turkish

President Erdogan to the White House this week, he will be welcoming a

known authoritarian, human rights abuser, and friend to Putin, whose

behavior increasingly runs counter to the interests of the United

States and our allies. It is yet another strategic mistake and a

terrible misuse of the power of the Presidency.

In recent years, the President of Turkey has made a series of

decisions to part ways with NATO, with the United States, and with the

basic principles of democracy. Make no mistake. Erdogan's actions are

intentional. It is stunning to think that any American President would

legitimize Erdogan's harmful policies by welcoming him to the Oval

Office. This meeting is a mistake, plain and simple.

I can only hope that instead of yielding to Erdogan's policies that

are so squarely at odds with U.S. interests, President Trump treats

this misguided meeting as more than just a photo op with yet another

dictator.

The President should instead use this visit to actually stand up for

America, for our principles, and for our allies. He can do this by

raising the many serious questions that Turkey has yet to address.

I would like to use this opportunity to outline 10 critical

questions, each of which deserves real answers.

Question No. 1: Will Turkey reverse course from Erdogan's decision to

buy

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and receive the S-400 air defense system from Russia?

The President's National Security Advisor claims that the

administration is very \\\`\\\`upset'' about Turkey's purchase of Russia's S-

400 weapons system. Well, \\\`\\\`upset'' is not a policy, and it falls well

short of the Trump administration's legal obligations.

Under the CAATSA sanctions law, Turkey's purchase of the S-400 is a

significant and sanctionable transaction. These sanctions should have

been imposed in July when Turkey first took delivery of the S-400s.

Yet, by failing to implement the legal requirements of CAATSA,

President Trump has done lasting damage to U.S. credibility, to the

integrity of our sanctions, and to the rule of law.

Is it too much to ask the President of the United States to follow

the law?

He can start by imposing CAATSA sanctions when Erdogan is in

Washington.

Question Number 2: Will our President sanction the activities of

Halkbank, a Turkish institution that facilitated the biggest evasion of

Iran's sanctions in history? I repeat: It was the biggest evasion of

Iran sanctions in history.

We know that the Justice Department has finally brought charges in

the case, but if the administration had followed the law, they would

have already imposed sanctions on Halkbank and sent a message to other

actors who seek to evade Iran sanctions.

I understand that one of Erdogan's top priorities for his visit to

the White House is to secure relief for Halkbank. That is the opposite

of what the law requires, and I hope President Trump shows some

backbone when Erdogan asks him for yet another favor.

Let's not forget that President Trump's personal attorney, Rudy

Giuliani represented Reza Zarrab, one of the players in Halkbank's

sanctions evasion.

It seems that the President likes to talk tough about his sanctions

policy on Iran and yet all the tough talks suddenly stops when the

interests of his authoritarian pals or his personal lawyer are on the

line.

Question number 3: Will the President accept the commission of war

crimes in Syria by Turkish-backed forces--the war crimes that he in

effect invited Turkey to commit when he green-lighted its invasion of

Syria?

The U.N. reports that more than 200,000 people have been internally

displaced from the so-called safe zone controlled by the Turks. Some of

those displaced have reported that Turkish-backed forces have beaten

civilians and conducted kidnappings and summary executions.

With the pullout of American troops, Turkey was effectively given

license to commit these abuses and unleash unspeakable crimes. That is

ethnic cleansing.

So many in this Chamber have said never again to this kind of horror

in the past. Can we depend on President Trump to do the same?

Last week, I introduced a binding resolution that would require the

State Department to report on Turkish human rights abuses in Syria.

State's findings could have a direct bearing on arms sales to Turkey.

Meanwhile, we have additional legislation to hold Turkey accountable

that has been waiting for a vote for weeks.

But where are we? Did we pass the Risch-Menendez bill on Turkey? No.

Did we pass the House version of that legislation? No. Day after day,

week after week, we sit on our hands, too timid to act on any

legislation that might upset Erdogan while he is in town. Whatever

happened to standing up for our American values?

This weekend, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien declared that

\\\`\\\`there's no place for ethnic cleansing, for war crimes in the 21st

century.'' Will President Trump deliver that message to Erdogan on

Wednesday? Will he seek to maintain any shred of dignity and U.S.

credibility on human rights issues, or will he let Erdogan engage in

these horrific human rights issues without consequence?

Question Number 4: Will our President stand up to Turkish aggression

against its neighbors throughout the region? Turkish naval ships

routinely violate the exclusive economic zones of Cyprus and may take

measures in Famagusta that would set the peace process on the island

back even further.

Turkey also routinely violates airspace that belongs to Greece,

brazenly disregarding Greece's sovereignty and the safety of Greek

pilots and those on the ground below.

Has President Trump uttered a word of support for our Greek friends

and NATO ally? Will he affirm America's relationship with Greece during

Erdogan's visit to the White House?

The EU has developed a sanctions framework that would address

Turkey's actions in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone. Will Donald

Trump follow suit?

Question No. 5: Will our President condemn or accept Erdogan's

warming relationship with the Russian Federation?

In addition to buying the S-400, Turkey is now in talks to purchase

the Russian Sukhoi aircraft. Last week, Erdogan felt the need to

coordinate with President Putin prior to coming to the United States.

According to Reuters, he said he would hold a phone call with the

Russian President over the weekend to \\\`\\\`form the basis'' of his talks

with President Trump.

Imagine this, a NATO ally--NATO comprised primarily to defend against

the Russian Federation--a NATO ally going to have conversations with

Putin to form the basis of his conversation with President Trump. Aside

from perhaps Hungary, I can't imagine any other leader in NATO

coordinating with Putin before a conversation with an American

President.

Some say we need to tread carefully with Turkey lest we push it into

Russia's arms. Push? It seems to me that Erdogan has jumped into

Putin's arms long ago with no provocation from us.

Question No. 6: Will President Trump call out Erdogan's assault on

the democratic process in Turkey? Will he stick up for civil society

groups, university professors, and others who have been unjustly

detained? Will he stick up for journalists there, even as he demonizes

the free press here at home? More journalists are imprisoned in Turkey

than any other country in the world--in the world.

Under article 2 of the NATO charter, member countries commit to a

certain set of democratic principles. This is the basis of the

alliance. At its core, this is why we commit to the mutual defense of

these allies. They share our values, our belief in human rights, in

human freedom, in democracy, and in the rule of law. Yet all of

Erdogan's actions over the past few years run afoul of the democratic

principles that define the NATO alliance.

I know the President does not like to stand up for democracy at home

or abroad, but I hope this meeting will be different in that he will

finally come to understand what was clear to so many Presidents before

him--Republican and Democratic alike--that how a leader treats his own

people is indicative of how they will act on the world stage. An

authoritarian at home is an authoritarian abroad, and both should

matter to the United States.

Question No. 7: Will President Trump ignore the violent attacks by

Erdogan's security detail in 2017 against peaceful protesters and DC

police? The last time Erdogan visited in 2017, his goons did just that,

resulting in criminal charges against more than half a dozen members of

his security detail.

During his meeting, President Trump should insist that Erdogan hand

over those guards implicated in the 2017 attacks. It is clear that

Erdogan's visit will again attract demonstrators and rightfully so.

While Erdogan may not believe in the right of peaceful protest in his

home country, I hope Erdogan learned his lesson that here in the United

States the right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in our Constitution

and is core to our democracy. I hope President Trump clearly reminds

him of this fact.

Question No. 8: Will President Trump accept efforts by Turkey to

convert Hagia Sophia, which was the largest Greek Orthodox Church in

the world for more than 1,000 years, into a mosque? Will he advocate

for the religious freedom of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who

continues to work and live under pressure from the Turkish Government?

I hear a lot about religious freedom. Well, this is one glaring example

where the administration has been silent.

Question No. 9: Will President Trump ignore Erdogan's violation of

the U.N.'s

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arms embargo on Libya? Now, to be fair, Turkey is not the only country

funneling weapons to clients in Libya in clear violation of U.N.

Security Council Resolution 1970, but the grinding, protracted conflict

heightened by these weapons is destabilizing North Africa and allowing

for the trafficking and exploitation of desperate migrants and

refugees.

Will President Trump call on all outside powers, including Turkey, to

engage in Libya with diplomacy rather than weapons transfers and to

encourage the warring parties to find a political solution to the

conflict?

Finally, Question No. 10: Will President Trump call out Turkey's

relationship with Hamas, the Palestinian organization that continues to

terrorize Israel on a daily basis? Will he stand by our ally Israel or

will his personal interest and affinity for strong men win out once

again?

The President says he wants to put America first. Yet on every one of

these 10 issues, the President has cowered to the demands of Ankara and

Moscow.

Look, President Trump can meet with Erdogan--that is his decision and

his prerogative--but on these and so many other issues, President

Trump's actions do not represent the values of the American people or

their representatives in Congress. He does not represent those who

support holding Russia accountable. He does not represent those who

stand against war crimes in Syria. He does not represent those who want

to see a democratic Turkey.

Despite our objections, President Trump will welcome Erdogan to the

Oval Office. At the same time, it is worth pointing out that so many

months into the controversy surrounding Ukraine, President Trump has

yet to set a date for an Oval Office meeting with Ukraine's President

Zelensky.

President Zelensky is a true friend to the United States on the

frontlines of the struggle for democracy in his country. He is standing

up to Russian aggression and corruption. He is respecting the free

press. He is working to strengthen democratic institutions. President

Zelensky is everything that President Erdogan of Turkey is not. Yet it

is Turkey that President Trump continues to admire and Ukraine that he

continues to demonize.

Something is wrong here. Something is wrong. We should not have to

cross our fingers and hope that any American President stands up for

our values, holds our adversaries accountable, and does the right thing

when it matters most. It should not be a question. It should be a

given. Yet all I can do at this time is hope that President Trump will

reverse course and challenge the bad behavior of an authoritarian like

Erdogan rather than celebrate it.

With that, I yield the floor.

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