US sanctions Turkish ministries, senior officials over offensive in Syria

WASHINGTON – US Treasury announced on Monday that it has imposed sanctions on two ministries and three senior Turkish government officials in response to Turkey’s military operations in Syria.

Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, as well as the heads of the two ministries and the minister of the Interior, are blacklisted as a result of today’s action, the Treasury said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will soon issue an executive order authorizing sanctions against former and current Turkish officials over the country’s offensive in Syria.

He also said in a statement that the United States will immediately stop negotiations over a 100-billion-US dollars trade deal with Turkey and raise tariffs on steel imports from Turkey back up to 50 percent, as part of the US response to Turkish military operations starting Wednesday targeting the Kurdish forces in several parts of northeast Syria.