The U.S. Treasury slapped punitive sanctions on Turkey's defense and interior and energy ministers and their departments on Monday in response to Ankara's military assault on northern Syria.
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday he will meet with NATO allies next week to press them to take "diplomatic and economic measures" in response to Turkey's incursion into Syria.
In a statement, Esper said Turkey's military action "was unnecessary and impulsive" and could result in the resurgence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
President Donald Trump also said on the same day that he would authorize sanctions against Turkish officials, stop negotiating with Turkey on a 100-billion-dollar trade deal and boost tariffs on the country's steel to 50 percent.
Trump's statement promising an executive order "soon" did not specify individuals but said it would enable Washington to impose "powerful additional sanctions" on those who may be involved in serious human rights abuses, obstructing a ceasefire, preventing displaced persons from returning home and forcibly repatriating refugees.
"I am fully prepared to swiftly destroy Turkey's economy if Turkish leaders continue down this dangerous and destructive path," Trump said, demanding Turkey stop its military incursion in Syria.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence said Trump had told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call on Monday to agree to an immediate ceasefire. He also said he would travel to the region soon to try to mediate the crisis.
In response to the sanctions, the top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said Trump's economic sanctions against Turkey do not go far enough.
Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham also said he strongly supports Trump's decision.
"The President's team has a plan, and I intend to support them as strongly as possible and to give them reasonable time and space to achieve our mutual goals," Graham said in a statement.
European Union countries agreed on Monday to limit arms exports to Turkey, prompting condemnation from Ankara, even as they stopped short of a bloc-wide embargo against a NATO ally.
Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters raise the Syrian opposition flag at the border town of Tel Abyad, Syria, October 14, 2019. /Reuters Photo
The Turkish government said it "fully rejected and condemned" the decisions taken and calls made by the EU on the two issues.
The United Kingdom is also reviewing all export licenses for weapons to Turkey.
Turkey launched the cross-border assault on Kurdish YPG militia on Wednesday after Trump withdrew some U.S. troops from the region. Meanwhile, Trump has reiterated that he would pull the remaining U.S. troops out of Syria and redeploy them elsewhere in the region to monitor the situation.
(Cover: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a "Make America Great Again" rally at the Minges Coliseum in Greenville, North Carolina, July 17, 2019. /VCG Photo)