Turkey lobbies Congress against lifting Cyprus arms embargo as tensions mount
Ankara is scrambling to keep Congress from lifting a three-decade arms embargo on Cyprus as US-Turkey tensions mount.
![CYPRUS-ANNIVERSARY/ Cypriot army armoured vehicles participate in a military parade marking Cyprus' Independence Day in Nicosia, Cyprus October 1, 2018. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou - RC17D08F54F0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/10/RTS23LS7.jpg/RTS23LS7.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=hDbFc4n2)
It remains unclear whether lawmakers will move forward with any of the four Turkey sanctions bills introduced over the last week, but Congress is much closer to passing another irritant between the troubled NATO allies into law.
Turkey, which occupies Northern Cyprus, has launched a last-ditch attempt to convince lawmakers to drop a provision in the annual defense authorization bill that would lift the United States’ three-decade arms embargo on Cyprus.