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A senior US State Department official announced on Wednesday that the threat of Turkey being subjected to US sanctions has become “very real” after Ankara tested Russia’s S-400 air defense missile system.
State Department arms sales official Clark Cooper said the Turks “continue to pursue 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 in 2017 “to confront US opponents through sanctions.”
In particular, the law provides for automatic sanctions when a country concludes a “major deal” with the Russian arms sector.
Cooper noted that since last year Washington had informed its strategic ally Ankara that the red line for the United States would be the operation of the “S-400” system that Ankara bought from Moscow in 2017.
“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 missiles.”
Avoid estrangement
The US diplomat emphasized that his country nonetheless seeks to avoid a boycott with Turkey and said: “We are definitely doing our best to keep Turkey in the western field”, considering that “excluding Turkey will not benefit anyone except Russia. “.
Last Sunday, Erdogan responded vigorously to threats from the United States to impose sanctions on his country if the Russian missile system was activated.
The Turkish president said that his country will not ask anyone for permission to test any weapon it possesses, and stressed that Ankara does not pay attention to Washington’s objections in this field.
He was surprised that the United States did not oppose Greece’s purchase of Russian defense systems, although, like Turkey, it is also a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The United States had suspended Turkey’s participation in the program to make modern American warplanes, “F-35” (F-35), in response to Turkey’s purchase of the “S-400” system.
Washington believes that the “S-400” system could lead to the revelation of technological secrets of this advanced fighter.
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