Senators announce a bipartisan bill to impose 'severe sanctions' on Turkey and block military sales

• Senators announced a bipartisan bill on Wednesday that would punish Turkey for its invasion of northern Syria.
• Bill sponsor Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said the measure would immediately block US arms sales to Turkey.
• Van Hollen said the sanctions would be lifted when Turkey withdraws its forces.
• Turkey launched air and ground assaults into northern Syria against Kurdish forces Wednesday after President Donald Trump pulled US troops from the area.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A sponsor of an emerging bipartisan Senate bill that would punish Turkey for its invasion of northern Syria said Wednesday the measure could immediately block U.S. arms sales to Turkey, effectively rebuking President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to pull U.S. troops from the region.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told The Associated Press that he and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are also discussing penalizing other countries that sell weapons to Turkey.

Read more: Turkey launches military operation against the Kurds in Syria just days after Trump abandoned them

Van Hollen said the measure could also import sanctions on senior Turkish officials and that the penalties would be lifted when Turkey withdrew its forces.

Both lawmakers said they expect wide support from both parties. That underscores the broad bipartisan opposition in Congress to Trump's sudden move.

Graham, a former longtime member of the Senate Armed Services and a leading congressional voice on military matters, said he had reached agreement with Van Hollen.

"While the administration refuses to act against Turkey, I expect strong bipartisan support," Graham said in a written statement. "Most members of Congress believe it would be wrong to abandon the Kurds who have been strong allies" in fighting the Islamic State group.

Graham, normally a staunch Trump ally, has been a leading critic of the president's decision to pull back U.S. forces back.

Read more: Lindsey Graham threatens 'sanctions from hell' and warns Turkey against crossing a 'red line' as it readies for attack in Syria

Turkey launched air and ground assaults into northern Syria against the Kurds on Wednesday after the U.S. move. Syrian Kurdish fighters have been America's only allies in Syria fighting IS, and hundreds of American troops have been stationed there.

Turkey considers the Kurdish fighters to be terrorists allied with a Kurdish insurgency in Turkey.

Trump's removal of American forces increased the chances that Turkey would invade Syria, even though he has threatened to "totally destroy and obliterate" Turkey's economy if the Turkish push went too far.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that Sen. Graham is a former longtime member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, not the current chairman.

• Read more:
• The general who led the fight against ISIS says Trump's new policy 'breaks that trust' after years of hard fighting
• A brutal dictator, warring US partners, and a former al-Qaeda branch: Here's who controls Syria now
• 11,000 Kurds died fighting ISIS and now the US is abandoning them — who will help America next time?
• The US pulling out of both Syria and Open Skies Treaty would be the best birthday present for Vladimir Putin

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