[ad_1]
Ankara – With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announcing his country’s tests of Russian S-400 missiles, Ankara is closer than ever to imposing US sanctions on it, after US President Donald Trump earlier postponed it, who suggested keeping them in storage as a condition. not to take punitive measures against Ankara.
Turkey’s defiance of the US red lines, despite its leniency, indicates new tensions in relations between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, especially if the US administration changes after the US presidential elections. November 3 with the arrival of the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, to the White House.
Biden is pursuing a tougher policy towards Turkey than his Republican opponent, Trump, as he has repeatedly criticized Turkish policies and has openly said that he would support opposition forces to overthrow Erdogan in the upcoming elections.
A senior US State Department official announced on Wednesday that the risk of Turkey being subject to US sanctions after testing Russia’s S-400 air defense missile system has become “very real.”
Clark Cooper, in charge of arms sales at the ministry, told reporters that the Turks “continue with the S-400 system.”
He added that “sanctions are an idea that has largely become an issue” after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last week that his country had tested the Russian air defense system on October 16, which Washington says is incompatible with Turkey’s membership in NATO.
The US administration can impose economic sanctions on Ankara under a law passed by Congress almost unanimously in 2017 to “confront America’s opponents through sanctions.”
In particular, the law provides for automatic sanctions when a country reaches a “major deal” with the Russian arms sector.
These sanctions vary, according to lawmakers, from a ban on issuing entry visas to denying the deal with the Export-Import Bank, which is based in the United States, and the most severe options are to stop dealing with the American financial system. and deny export licenses.
Cooper noted that Washington has informed its strategic ally Ankara since last year that the red line for the United States will be the operation of the S-400 system that Ankara bought from Moscow in 2017 as part of its rapprochement with Moscow.
“We made it clear to Ankara that the S-400 missile test is totally unacceptable,” he said, noting that the US administration is still making efforts “to convince Turkey not to operate the S-400 missile system.” The US diplomat stressed that his country, however, seeks to avoid a boycott with Turkey.
“We are definitely doing everything we can to keep Turkey in the western field,” he said, adding that “excluding Turkey will not benefit anyone except Russia.”
On Sunday, Erdogan responded harshly to threats from the United States to impose sanctions on his country if the Russian missile system was activated.
In response to Ankara receiving its first Russian battery last year, the United States suspended Turkey’s participation in the program to make modern American F-35 fighter jets, believing that the S-400 system could provoke the disclosure of technological secrets. of this advanced fighter.
Erdogan confirmed last week that Turkey would continue to test military equipment, including light, medium and heavy weapons, many of which were purchased from the United States.
Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 defense system in the context of its rapprochement with Moscow has sparked disputes with several Western countries who say that the Russian defense system is not compatible with NATO equipment.
