U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) is calling upon President Donald Trump to remove nuclear weapons stored in Turkey.
Markey, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the U.S. stores roughly 50 B61 nuclear weapons at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. The airbase is located about 250 miles from the Syrian border. The region has become increasingly unstable following Turkey’s ongoing attacks in Syria, Markey said.
“President Trump should immediately order the removal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Turkey and launch a diplomatic initiative with our allies to ensure that we are fully upholding our defense commitments,” the junior Massachusetts senator said. “Donald Trump failed by removing U.S. troops from near the border while neglecting to remove some of the world’s most dangerous weapons from a country increasingly in crisis.
Turkey launched its attacks on Syria last week after Trump decided to vacate U.S. troops.
“While Russia’s nuclear threat continues, our nuclear weapons deployment must reflect today’s evolving security environment,” Markey added. “We have removed nuclear weapons from allied countries like Germany and South Korea before, and we must now act prudently once again, ignoring President Erdogan’s attempts to intimidate us by inflating the value of destructive nuclear arms.”