Europe postpones punishment of Turkey: “S-400” is back in the spotlight



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The European Union summit, which concluded yesterday, did not produce any clear decisions regarding the Ankara deal, apart from raising a demand that limited sanctions be prepared against Turkish citizens to satisfy Greece and Cyprus who oppose the work of Turkey’s continued exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, in exchange for the transfer of discussions on even more severe measures. Next March, after taking the opinion of the next US administration, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. However, the lowered sanctions that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan downplayed, seeking, at the same time, calm, came at a time when Ankara is likely to be exposed to US sanctions linked to the purchase of the system of Russian S-400 defense.

Although the size of the possible European and US sanctions is not yet clear, they could negatively affect the already depleted Turkish economy, and weaken in parallel with the Turkish lira, after it registered new losses yesterday. After a marathon summit the day before yesterday, the Europeans decided to put together a list of Turkish figures to impose sanctions on them. They are expected to target names involved in exploration activities, specifically in the National Petroleum Company of Turkey, according to Reuters. The lack of consensus among member states prevented the adoption of economic sanctions against Ankara, or the consideration of Greece’s request to impose a European arms embargo destined for Turkey. The European Union refrained from implementing the threat issued two months ago to consider broader economic measures, and these steps were not to the extent that Greece, France and Cyprus wanted, with Germany, Italy and Spain pushing to grant more. time to “diplomacy” in light of his opposition to imposing Sanctions on a “NATO” member state. The leaders asked both the European Commission and the EU Foreign Minister to present a report to the European summit scheduled for next March, to discuss the political, economic and trade relations between Turkey and the European Union, and the options available. on how to move forward, including expanding sanctions.
While Erdogan downplayed them, French President Emmanuel Macron was quick to welcome the bloc’s measures, placing them within the framework of European “firmness” toward Turkey. The Turkish president said that “European Union countries are wise, they took a positive approach and torpedoed this game” which aims to impose tougher sanctions, noting that his country has “deep political and economic relations with both the United States and the European Union, and none of them can ignore them or take risks. By losing it. Erdogan expressed his desire to calm down, when he said that his country “has never done and will never do anything that damages the spirit of these relations.” He believed that “a sanctions agenda driven by political considerations on irrational grounds, is detrimental to all parties and will benefit no one.”

The European Union has been reluctant to implement the threat to consider broader economic measures against Turkey.

The European actions coincided with leaks that revealed that the president of the United States is about to announce a package of sanctions targeting Ankara under the Act “Confronting the Enemies of the United States through Sanctions” (KATSA), in the context of your purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system. Although the website “Bloomberg” indicated that the sanctions recommended by the Secretary of State of the United States, Mike Pompeo, did not reveal their nature, the agency “Reuters” said, citing sources, who point to the Administration of Defense Industries of Turkey and its director, Ismail Demir. The agency quoted a Turkish official as saying that his country wants to resolve the dispute with Washington over the deal, but that it is not subject to unilateral measures. Commenting on this, Erdogan considered that sanctions of this type diminish respect for his country, adding that “under the Obama administration, as in the Trump era, he was proud of the presence of a NATO member like Turkey. Subjecting Turkey to sanctions would amount to a lack of respect by the United States for a very important ally within the alliance.

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