Congressman Pete Sessions recently visited the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus, becoming the first American politician to fly directly into ​​the unrecognized Turkish proxy state - against State Department advice - on a junket sponsored by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce. The visit was condemned by the Republic of Cyprus as well, which denounced it as a violation of international law and a departure from Washington’s official stance. Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former Pentagon official, joins Thanos Davelis to explain how Congressman Sessions’ stunt was not only deeply irresponsible, but does nothing to advance diplomacy, and is manna for expansionist dictators everywhere.

Read Michael Rubin’s latest: Pete Sessions’s occupied Cyprus junket bolsters dictators, undermines peace

You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:

Gerapetritis: ‘Sovereignty not up for discussion’

Cyprus making progress with US visa waivers