US Senator Robert Menendez called for Turkey to be sanctioned on Thursday during an interview with Greek broadcaster ERT’s Washington DC correspondent Lena Argiri.
During the interview Menendez spoke of Turkey’s provocative actions and criticised his own country’s ‘equidistant diplomacy’ saying US officials should not put Greece and the Republic of Cyprus in the same category as Turkey when they refer to geopolitical tensions in the eastern Mediterranean region, explaining that Turkey is the region’s only problem-causing country.
The US Senator also called on the international community to condemn what he called Turkey’s extreme aggression, one that claimed an Exclusive Economic Zone that reaches to Libya, violating Greece’s sovereignty, and one of continuous violations in Cyprus’ EEZ. In addition, as the United States is a state of law, it must enforce the law and impose sanctions on Turkey, stressed Senator Menendez.
When asked whether the US has adequately used the EastMed Act provisions to take full advantage of opportunities in the eastern Mediterranean, the senator said that the region provides enormous opportunities for security and energy cooperation among countries of the region.
Bob Menendez serves as the Ranking Member of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee that helps shape US foreign policy of broad significance, in matters of war and peace and international relations. He was Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the 113th Congress, where he led the effort to sanction Russia after they invaded Ukraine.