Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers said on Thursday they would keep up their push for tougher sanctions on Turkey over its offensive in Syria despite the announcement of a five-day cease-fire.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen announced legislation that would impose "crippling" sanctions on the government in Ankara shortly before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had agreed to a pause to let Kurdish forces withdraw from a "safe zone."
The bill would target Turkish officials, end U.S. military cooperation with the NATO ally and mandate sanctions over Turkey's purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system.