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Turkey’s future role in the NATO defense alliance appears increasingly uncertain. On Monday, the United States imposed sanctions on the country’s largest defense developer Statistics Norway, its president Ismail Demir and three other employees.
The reason is that in the middle of last year, Turkey decided to buy a Russian missile defense system.
Erdogan: “We expect support”
The Ankara government has condemned the sanctions.
Shortly before the decision was made public, President Tayyip Erdogan spoke about the threat of sanctions.
“From our NATO ally, the United States, we expect support in our fight against terrorist organizations and forces that have plans for our region, not sanctions,” Erdogan said after a meeting with the cabinet, Reuters reports.
Russia calls sanctions “illegitimate”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov commented on the sanctions on Monday, calling them “illegitimate” and saying they “displayed arrogance against international law,” the Interfax news agency reports.
The sanctions are seen as a severe blow to Turkey, whose economy was hit hard by the crown pandemic.
The United States has previously pulled Turkey out of a program to equip the country with the F-35 fighter jet, following the acquisition of the Russian missile defense system.
