Do “US sanctions” improve defense cooperation between Turkey and Russia?



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The Russian daily “Kommersant” published a report, in which it reported that the Trump administration imposed new restrictions on military-technical cooperation with Turkey; Due to its insistence on Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems.

The newspaper said, in its report translated by “Arabi 21”, that the US administration is targeting, through the new package of restrictions, the Turkish defense industry, as the new measures not only impose personal sanctions on Turkish leaders. But they also prohibit the issuance of US export licenses and prevent the transfer of any goods and technologies to the Turkish military-industrial complex.

The newspaper said the US sanctions will lead to the intensification of Ankara’s defense cooperation with Russia.

He quoted Undersecretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Palmer as saying Washington has no intention of distancing itself from its ally, but is trying to remind them of mutual obligations. Palmer added: “We are working with our Turkish partners to strengthen relations with the United States, and to help Turkey understand that relations with Western partners are more important to its interests than the relations it is developing with Moscow in the field. Defense and security We have made clear on several occasions that obtaining the “S-400 system” “Fundamentally conflicts with Turkey’s obligations as a NATO ally.”

A press release from the US State Department stated that “these measures are not intended to undermine the military capabilities and combat readiness of Turkey or any other US ally or partner, but to impose on Russia the costs of its hostilities to big scale”.

For its part, the United States Department of the Treasury indicated that the measures are designed to return the Turkish ally to the heart of American politics, and remove it from Moscow.

Read also: This is how the Turkish Interior Minister commented on the United States sanctions

The newspaper noted that the restrictive measures taken by Washington are primarily aimed at Turkey’s Defense Industries Administration and its boss, Ismail Demir, its deputy Faruk Yigit, the head of the Air Defense and Space Administration Serhat Genikoglu, and the director from the program of the Regional Administration of Air Defense Systems of the Department of Defense Industries, Mustafa Albert Deniz.

Sanctions imposed by the United States on Ankara include a ban on US financial institutions granting loans to run the Turkish defense industry in excess of $ 10 million, as well as a ban on the Export-Import Bank of the United States from providing export aid for the Turkish defense industry, and the United States intends to avoid issuing loans to Ankara by international financial institutions. In case the funds are likely to be used for defense needs.

The newspaper indicated that the reaction of the Turkish side indicates that the sanctions have the opposite effect, at least for the moment. In his tweet on his Twitter account, Ismail Demir said: “Any decision made abroad related to me or our administration will not change my position or that of my team, nor will it interfere in any way with the Turkish defense industry. Turkey is committed to achieving full independence of the defense industry under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “

The newspaper quoted the director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in Russia, Ruslan Pukhov: “For many decades, Turkey has been a deterrent to Russia within NATO and throughout the Western world. However, today the situation It has changed, and it appears that the collective West, led by the United States, is doing its best to do Turkey. “Perhaps the latest manifestation of this irrational approach is the sanctions imposed on the administration of the Turkish defense industry. The decision announced by Secretary of State Pompeo will exacerbate the gap between Turkey and the United States of America. “

Read also: US sanctions on Turkey affect defense industries official

According to the expert, Turkey will respond to this by increasing its investments in the military-industrial complex, which provides new opportunities for Russian-Turkish military-technical cooperation. For example, Russia could supply engines for the first Turkish national fighter jet to be built, as well as agree another contract for the supply of “S-400” systems.

The newspaper reported that the Principal Investigator of the Far East Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vasily Kashin, believes that the sanctions imposed by the United States on the management of the Turkish defense industry are aimed at questioning Turkey’s ability to implement any new military industrial programs using US technologies, components and equipment, and retire equipment. The United States is being used by the Turkish forces.

“The United States views arms exports as a tool of political influence, but the large-scale supply of advanced American weapons systems is incompatible with an independent foreign policy. After Turkish President Erdogan pursued a multidimensional foreign policy, the country it diversified its military and technical ties at China’s expense, “Kashin added. Overall, the recent restrictive measures taken by the United States against Ankara will only strengthen the trend toward diversifying relations, replacing imports in the field of military technical cooperation and creating new opportunities, especially for Russian and Chinese arms exporters.



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