Congress muted ahead of Turkish elections
The US is largely staying silent ahead of this weekend's controversial snap poll.
US lawmakers are largely staying silent ahead of this weekend's snap elections in Turkey despite growing fears of an authoritarian drift.
Only a few dozen House lawmakers have signed on to a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to help "ensure the integrity" of the elections. Meanwhile, several lawmakers have introduced bills highlighting the NATO member's stepped-up involvement in the war against the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
"Nobody wants a rupture with Turkey," said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a frequent critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's support for Islamists in Syria and his rhetoric on Israel.
Engel said he was not aware of the letter to Obama. The low-key effort, from Reps. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., and Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., had attracted 65 signatures, mostly from relatively low-ranking members, as of Oct. 26.
