NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration is withdrawing a proposal to let Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security guards buy $1.2 million in U.S.-made weapons following violence against protesters during Erdogan’s visit to Washington this spring.
A congressional official says the State Department has formally withdrawn its notification to Congress of the planned sale. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly and demanded anonymity.
Earlier this year, the administration told Congress it planned to allow New Hampshire gunmaker Sig Sauer to sell the weapons, which include hundreds of semi-automatic handguns and ammunition. The weapons would have gone to an intermediary in Turkey for use by Erdogan’s presidential security forces.
Nineteen people including 15 identified as Turkish security officials have been indicted by a U.S. grand jury for attacking protesters in May.
