[ad_1]
On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the imposition of sanctions on the defense industry in Turkey for the purchase of the Russian “S-400” system. In a statement, he added that sanctions were imposed on Turkey under the Katsa Law, which allows the imposition of economic sanctions on any entity or country that signs arms contracts with Russian companies.
“The measures taken clearly confirm that the United States will not be satisfied with important exchanges with the Russian defense and intelligence sectors,” he said, adding that Washington “will not tolerate those who deal with the defense and intelligence sectors in Russia.”
Pompeo called on Ankara to solve the “S-400” problem in coordination with the United States, especially since the United States views Turkey as an important ally and regional security partner.
The sanctions include a ban on all export licenses, an asset freeze and a restriction of visas to the director of the Turkish Defense Industries Corporation, Ismail Demir, and his workers.
The United States views this Russian agreement with NATO member Turkey as a threat to the defenses of Western countries.
For his part, the Undersecretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation, Christopher Ford, told reporters: “This decision left us no alternative … We hope that the Turkish government is ready to communicate with us in an attempt to find a solution to this matter. “
On the other hand, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its condemnation and rejection of the US sanctions on Turkey, describing these sanctions as “unilateral”. “We condemn and reject the unilateral US sanctions against Turkey,” the State Department said in a statement issued after the US announced the imposition of sanctions.
He added: “Everyone is aware of the circumstances that accompanied Turkey’s purchase of these missiles, and specifically US President Donald Trump clearly said that Turkey is right on this matter, and the US accusations that these missiles will weaken NATO systems are not based on technical facts. “
The Foreign Ministry emphasized that “Turkey has offered several times to NATO to participate in a technical working group to work on solving this problem away from political prejudices and to address the problem on a real basis, but the United States he refused to agree to solve this problem through dialogue and diplomacy. “
And he promised to “respond to these sanctions, which must have negative effects on joint relations,” and said that “he will respond in the appropriate manner and time, and will not refrain from resorting to any measure to guarantee his national security.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the imposition of sanctions by the United States on Turkey, describing it as “the new illegal step by Washington.”
Lavrov said the sanctions are “new evidence of the arrogant attitude towards international law and the illegal and unilateral measures used by the United States for a long time, from the left and from the right.” He continued: “I believe that this does not increase the authority of the United States on the international scene as an official by sharing joint international actions, including in the field of military-technical cooperation.”
Earlier Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on his country’s citizens to transfer their savings to the Turkish lira in anticipation of sanctions, and stressed that he is working to reduce interest rates to levels appropriate for the markets. .
Erdogan announced the provision of material support of 1,000 Turkish liras (about $ 126) to 1,239,438 people, for a period of 3 months.
Erdogan explained that Ankara expects Washington’s support, saying: “We hope that the United States, our NATO ally, will support our fight against terrorist organizations and forces that have ambitions in our region instead of imposing sanctions on us.”
He also noted that Turkey is waiting for the European Union to fulfill its promise, which has been delayed for years, in terms of being a full member and not imposing sanctions on it.
[ad_2]
