Newly elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) (C) speaks to the assembled House after being elected as the new Speaker in Washington October 29, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (MENA) - The US House of Representatives on Tuesday easily approved sanctions against Turkey over its offensive in northern Syria against Kurdish forces, The Hill reported.
The measure passed 403-16, with 176 Republicans voting in support and just 15 opposing the bill.
The sanctions offer a rare bipartisan rebuke of President Donald Trump's policies while underscoring the growing divide between Congress and a NATO ally.
The sanctions bill, dubbed the Protect Against Conflict by Turkey Act, would impose financial and visa penalties on officials connected to Turkey's offensive in Syria, including the defense minister, the chief of the general staff of the Turkish armed forces and the finance minister, as well as sanction the state-owned bank Halkbank.
The bill would also ban arms sales to Turkey and sanction foreigners providing arms to Turkish forces in Syria. It also seeks to force the administration to impose the previously mandated sanctions for Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.
In addition to the sanctions bill, the House also passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide. The bill was fiercely opposed by Turkey, which denies the Ottoman Empire's massacre of more than 1 million Armenians in 1915 was a genocide, according to the newspaper.
The votes fell on the same day as Turkey’s Republic Day, which celebrates the anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.
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