A bipartisan group of House members is proposing a bill to reclassify Turkey at the State Department from a European to a Near Eastern country, citing Ankara’s growing distance from the U.S. and NATO allies.
Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) are leading the charge with the Turkey Diplomatic Realignment Act. This legislation aims to formally shift Turkey’s designation at the State Department from the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs to the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, reflecting Turkey’s increasing connections with Russia, China, Iran, and Hamas, which are seen as threats to Western security interests.
“Turkey is at a crossroads, but Erdogan has made his choice,” Schneider stated.
“His government harbors Hamas operatives, props up Putin’s war machine, and obstructs NATO unity—while still demanding the privileges of a Western ally. It’s time for American diplomacy to stop pretending that Turkey is still part of Europe,” Schneider added.
Bilirakis stated that the Turkish President’s actions consistently contradict American interests, causing regional instability.
“The time has come for official U.S. foreign policy to more accurately reflect the realities of this hostile regime’s conduct and for Erdogan to be held accountable,” he said.
The Turkish government disputes the characterization of its foreign policy and European orientation by members of Congress.
A Turkish embassy official in Washington told Digital, “Türkiye’s European identity is an undeniable historical and geostrategic fact. As a strong member of NATO, the Council of Europe, OSCE and an associate EU member, Türkiye is part and parcel of European institutional framework and universal values that these institutions represent.”
Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe that “the government of Turkey has become a headache for U.S. policymakers. If Ankara maintains its current trajectory, that headache will soon become a migraine.”
He informed the subcommittee that Turkey often acts as an adversary, pursuing harmful domestic and foreign policies that clash with U.S. interests, citing its support for Middle Eastern terrorist groups and rogue states, including Hamas.
He also stated that Turkey has used its NATO membership to undermine American interests, holding Washington “hostage” by demanding the sale of F-16 fighter jets in exchange for approving Sweden’s admission into the alliance.
Erdogan has strengthened Turkey’s relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin during the war in Ukraine, including purchasing a missile defense system. While most of NATO imposed economic sanctions on Russia and sought to reduce energy dependence, Turkey has maintained close trade and energy ties with Russia.
The proposed legislation requires the State Department to reassign Turkey’s diplomatic status within 90 days and submit a five-year congressional review on the consequences of Turkey’s realignment away from Europe.
Endy Zemenides, Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, whose organization supports the legislation, told Digital that he commends the bipartisan legislators for requiring the State Department to deal with Ankara realistically.
“An honest evaluation of the U.S .foreign policy bureaucracy reveals that we have unwittingly granted Turkey a “lobby” within multiple State Department bureaus, the size of which is wholly undeserved by a country that has, at best, become “neither friend nor foe,” Zemenides told Digital.