Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford has issued a statement on the announcement from the Trump Administration to impose sanctions on Turkey.

He said as Turkey continues to turn their back on the region it is right that the U.S. should respond with the appropriate consequences when foreign allies make ill-advised military advances instead of promoting peace in the region.

In April 2018, Senators Lankford, Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis introduced a bill to prevent the transfer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Turkey after a number of human rights violations, including the unjust imprisonment of American pastor, Andrew Brunson. The same Senators secured a provision in the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that directed the Secretary of Defense to submit a plan to Congress that removed Turkey from participation in the F-35 program.

This year, Lankford, Shaheen, Tillis, and Senator Chris Van Hollen introduced a bill to prohibit the transfer of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Turkey until the US certifies that Turkey would not purchase Russian S-400 air defense system.

Days after the bill was introduced, the Pentagon announced they suspended F-35 equipment to Turkey. The same group of bipartisan Senators cosponsored a provision to the Senate-passed FY2020 defense bill to prohibit the transfer of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Turkey.