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The US House foreign affairs committee criticized Turkey’s government on Wednesday, singling out six of Ankara's policies that “undermine the Nato alliance", the National News reported. 

Democratic committee chairman Eliot Engel and the leading Republican on the committee, Michael McCaul, expressed “grave concern” over relations with Turkey. “While we continue to see real value in a strong US-Turkey relationship, its destabilizing actions need to be more strongly addressed," they said in a joint statement.

"And the United States must work with its European and Nato allies and partners to continue to use all of the tools at their disposal to demand that Turkey reverse course." They mentioned six policy areas that they hoped Turkey would reverse.

The first was its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, which “compromises Nato interoperability and undermines the alliance’s collective defense pledge".

The statement also referred to Turkey’s military operation in north-east Syria, which it claimed “risked reversing critical gains by the United States and our local partners in the ongoing counter-ISIS fight, and exacerbated the existing humanitarian crisis".

It accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of fanning the flames of other global conflicts, “reportedly sending Syrian mercenaries to Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh".

The congressmen also mentioned the Eastern Mediterranean conflict, in which they said Ankara was disrupting transatlantic relations.

It “has surveyed for hydrocarbon resources in disputed waters also claimed by Greece, a Nato member, and Cyprus, a key transatlantic partner".

The committee members also mentioned Ankara’s relations with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and that Mr Erdogan “has openly hosted Hamas terrorists in Turkey, including individuals designated by the United States for their terrorist activities".

The source reminded, that on Monday, the Trump administration took an unprecedented step in imposing sanctions on Ankara over buying and testing the S-400 system from Moscow.