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Reuters
The State Department has refuted statements made by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu regarding the establishment of a working group between the United States and Turkey on the S-400 issue.
Responding to a question, a spokesman for the United States Department of State clarified that there is no such working group and emphasized that Washington remains fully committed to the implementation of the CAATSA sanctions. As he explained, there are routine consultations on the impact sanctions will have on bilateral military cooperation.
“We understand that the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified the positions of the minister (Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu). There is no working group on CAATSA sanctions or on the ‘review’ of threats posed by the S-400 system to F-35. There are routine consultations at the working level on the impact of sanctions on existing military cooperation. “We remain committed to the full implementation of the sanctions, as announced by Minister Pompeo on December 14,” he said.
Turkey’s foreign minister said in the morning, referring to recent US sanctions, that the two sides agreed to form a joint working group to consider the S-400 issue, while emphasizing that Ankara is ready to take steps towards improving bilateral relations with the US, adding that he hopes the new Joe Biden government will move in the same direction
