Donald Trump announced Monday the first sanctions against Turkey and some Turkish officials.
In his sanctions announcement, Trump said he was halting negotiations on a $100bn trade deal with Turkey and raising steel tariffs back up to 50 percent. The president also imposed sanctions on three senior Turkish officials and Turkey's defence and energy ministries.
In a statement announcing the move, Trump said he was "fully prepared to swiftly destroy Turkey's economy if Turkish leaders continue down this dangerous and destructive path".
Trump said Turkey's military offensive was "endangering civilians and threatening peace, security and stability in the region".
"I have been perfectly clear with Erdogan: Turkey's action is precipitating a humanitarian crisis and setting conditions for possible war crimes," Trump added in his statement. "Turkey must ensure the safety of civilians, including religous and ethnic minorities, and is now, or may be in the future, responsible for the ongoing detention of ISIS terrorists in the region."
According to the US Treasury, Turkish Minister of Defence Hulusi Akar, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, and Energy Minister Fatih Donmez were placed on the department's sanctions blacklist, freezing their assets in the United States and banning US or US-related transactions with them.
The sanctions apply to individuals, entities or associates of the Turkish government involved in "actions that endanger civilians or lead to the further deterioration of peace, security and stability in northeast Syria", US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
The US Congress will press ahead with a broad package of sanctions on Turkey, including cutting military support, after measures announced by the Trump administration were dismissed as ineffective, Senate officials have confirmed.
