The UAE is lobbying US lawmakers to place sanctions on Turkey

The UAE’s operation to lobby US lawmakers into sanctioning Turkey have been exposed, according to documents reviewed by Anadolu Agency.

Reporters from the news outlet confirmed that Abu Dhabi had hired the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld lobbying group (known as Akin Gump).

In an email message sent to lawmakers, Akin Group employee, Charles Johnson, advocated for harsh sanctions against Ankara over its operation to free parts of Northern Syria from PKK-affiliated YPG terrorists.

Johnson wrote: 

“I am reaching out on behalf of our client, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, to underscore the UAE's condemnation of Turkish aggression in Syria and support for sanctions measures against Turkey such as the House-passed 'Protect Against Conflict by Turkey Act’.

"I hope this information is helpful as you continue to monitor developments in Syria, and as the Senate considers potential sanctions measures."

According to Al Monitor, the UAE has hired dozens of lobbying groups to do its bidding on Capitol Hill.

The move is the latest in a long line of measures Abu Dhabi has taken against Turkish interests both within Turkey and across the Middle East, where Ankara has worked to ensure regional stability.

The operation against YPG terrorists was launched to prevent the group from establishing a safe haven from which to attack Turkish citizens. These fears materialised when the YPG launched shelling attacks on Turkish urban areas bordering Syria, killing a number of civilians.

Since the war against Daesh began, the US has formed an alliance with the YPG and has insisted that the terrorists do not pose a threat to Turkey. This is despite its intertwined organisational structure with the PKK, which has killed more than 40,000 Turkish citizens and the fact it is itself proscribed as a terrorist group by the US, EU, and Turkey.

Despite its deep-rooted commitment to attacking Turkey, the UAE has funded the YPG terrorists to the tune of more than $1bn.

But Abu Dhabi’s anti-Turkey agenda does not end with the YPG. 

In April, Turkish security forces busted an Emirati spy ring, which was possibly linked to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and was under the command of the Palestinian terrorist leader Mohamed Dahlan. 

A former Fatah operative, Dahlan fled Gaza after his failed attempt to engineer a coup to bring down the Hamas authority there. His relations with the Palestinian leadership under Mahmoud Abbas soured soon after and he set himself up as an agent-for-hire for the Emirati leadership in Abu Dhabi.

The fugitive is believed to have used his expertise planning failed coups to support the July 2016 putsch attempt in Turkey, which was orchestrated by the FETO terrorist organisation.

Dahlan is accused of transferring Emirati funds to the coup plotters prior to the attempt. As a result, he was added to Turkey’s Most Wanted list with a $700,000 bounty on his head and an Interpol red notice to his name. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is understood to have been referencing the UAE when he said: "We know that a country gave $3 billion in financial support to the coup attempt.”