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Shortly after the US sanctions against Turkey for the purchase of the Russian “S-400” air defense system, the Russian Foreign Minister assured his Turkish counterpart of the continuation and development of military cooperation between them, despite the sanctions. from the United States.
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Lavrov-Oglu: The sanctions do not affect the bilateral relations between Moscow and Ankara, which are based on their interests
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that military cooperation between Moscow and Ankara will continue despite sanctions imposed by the United States on Turkey on December 14, in the context of its purchase of a missile defense system from Russian manufacture.
Lavrov said after speaking with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Sochi: “We affirm our joint determination to develop our technical and military cooperation.”
The Russian minister stressed that Western sanctions “do not affect bilateral relations based on their national interests.”
Lavrov stressed that President Vladimir Putin appreciates Turkey’s determination to “continue cooperation in this field despite the illegal pressure on Washington.”
For his part, Davutoglu stressed that “we will not back down from our measures due to sanctions. Our agreement to receive the S-400 came before this decision, imposing sanctions on Turkey.”
“In any case, including the S-400, we prefer to solve problems through dialogue, and the United States said after the sanctions that it supports dialogue,” he added.
Deliveries of the latest Russian air defense systems, “S-400”, to Turkey began in mid-July 2019. Last August, Russia and Turkey signed a contract to supply a second batch of the defense system. An agreement to supply the first batch of “S-400” to Turkey was signed in December 2017 in Ankara, under which Turkey obtains a loan from Russia to partially finance the purchase of missiles.
With Washington imposing sanctions on Turkey, it prohibited granting arms export permits to the Turkish government administration to purchase weapons, and prevented the head of this administration and other officials from entering the US.
Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system, in the context of its rapprochement with Moscow, sparked a dispute with many Western countries.
The US sanctions coincided with those approved by the European Union regarding Turkey’s activities in the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned these sanctions, saying they “violate Turkey’s sovereignty.” In a statement, the Turkish Defense Ministry condemned the US sanctions and stressed that they “shook all the foundations of the alliance with Washington.” Turkey has indicated that it will use the “S-400” system without integrating it into NATO command and control systems.
Although Russia and Turkey oppose many issues, including: Syria, Libya and the Caucasus, they affirm the preservation of constructive relations, especially due to the good relations between Presidents Putin and Erdogan.
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