[ad_1]
Due to the use of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, the United States is imposing sanctions on its NATO ally, Turkey. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday. Specifically, all arms deals with Turkey will be stopped because the State Armaments Agency (SSB) will no longer receive any American licenses.
In addition, visa restrictions are imposed on SSB chief Ismail Demir and three other employees of the arms agency, he said. Pompeo also stressed that Turkey was a “valuable ally” of the United States and an important security partner in the region and that they wanted continued cooperation in the defense sector.
That will be seen. Because Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had already criticized the US sanctions beforehand. A confrontation with the sanctions is “disrespectful to one of its very important NATO partners,” Erdogan said, according to state news agency Anadolu on Friday.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry announced in an initial statement that Turkey would take the necessary measures against this “unfair” decision in a timely and appropriate manner.
It was a procedure “for no reason” that the United States refused to resolve the problem with diplomacy and instead impose sanctions, he said.
Turkey argued with threats from Syria
Turkey acquired Russia’s missile defense system last summer. For this reason, the United States has already excluded its NATO partner Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program and threatened sanctions. In October, Turkey tested the S-400 system for the first time in operational conditions. The operation was inconsistent with Turkey’s obligations as a NATO partner, a Pentagon spokesman said at the time.
Turkey argues that it needs its own missile defense system against threats from neighboring Syria, a country in civil war, but also from within the country. According to his presentation, he did not receive any reasonable alternative offers from the alliance partners.
The S-400 is a mobile air defense system that can lift aircraft and other objects out of the sky. The units, which usually consist of several missiles, a radar and a command post, can be transported by truck. The S-400 can work with short, medium and long-range missiles. (apa, dpa, reuters)
