WASHINGTON — The senators who oversee the U.S. foreign aid budget have warned the Turkish government there could be fiscal repercussions if Ankara fails to punish the bodyguards responsible for a violent incident in Washington.
In a letter to the Turkish ambassador to the United States, Sens. Lindsey Graham and Patrick Leahy say there could be “potential implications for assistance to Turkey” if the unseemly incident isn’t taken seriously by Ankara. Their letter to Ambassador Serdar Kilic is dated May 18 but wasn’t released until Monday.
Video shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security detail violently breaking up a peaceful protest last week outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican, and Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, are the chairman and ranking member of the Senate’s foreign operations subcommittee.
