According to the Russian News Agency on the 17th, Clark Cooper, Assistant Secretary of State for Military and Political Affairs, explained the reason at a press conference on Wednesday in response to the U.S. sanctions against Turkey for Turkey’s purchase of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia, saying that the sanctions were to “correct Ankara’s “The guidelines”, but should not affect the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Cooper said, “These sanctions are not targeted at the Turkish armed forces, and in any case, we will maintain bilateral relations and contacts within the NATO framework.
The purpose of sanctions is to achieve the “corrective approach” in military terminology. Our idea is to reverse this situation. As for the relationship between our two countries, it is in Turkey, the United States and NATO’s interests to maintain communication and cooperate and coordinate actions. We certainly have a common interest.
The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State also pointed out that despite the sanctions imposed by the United States on Turkey, the United States does not seek to exclude Turkey from NATO.
He stressed, “In the long run, we hope that Turkey will continue to be a member of NATO, and we also hope to maintain close bilateral relations.”
On December 14, the U.S. government announced sanctions against the Turkish Defense Industry Agency, its head Demir and three other citizens under the Law on Counterattacking the Enemy with Sanctions (CAATSA).
U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo said that the sanctions were a “clear signal” that the United States would “fully implement CAATSA” and that “we will not tolerate (any) major transactions with the Russian defense sector”.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said on the same day that the U.S. plan to impose sanctions on Turkey was widely known a year ago, so this is not surprising. This move by the United States is another manifestation of the arrogant attitude of international law, which has been taking unilateral coercive measures of this illegality for decades.
At a press conference held on the 16th, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Zakharova said that the sanctions imposed by the United States on Turkey for purchasing Russian S-400 air defense systems were another manifestation of Washington’s inability to compete under compliance with the rules.
The United States needs to take additional measures to ensure some of its competitive advantages, although these measures are illegal, including the imposition of unilateral sanctions in the military industry. She pointed out that the United States has adopted a similar approach in the media, energy and other fields.
As a party to sanctions, Turkey condemned and opposed the move of the United States on the 14th, and said that it would take the necessary measures to respond to the sanctions imposed by the United States.
In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the unilateral sanctions launched by the United States are incomprehensible, and reiterated that the S-400 system will not affect NATO’s air defense system.
The United States should “undo this serious mistake as soon as possible” and Turkey is ready to resolve the matter through dialogue and diplomacy with the United States.
Turkish Vice President Fouad Okta and the Director of the Turkish Presidential Office of Communications Fahreddin Altun also called on the United States to reverse the wrong decision as soon as possible and reverse the “serious mistake” as soon as possible.
On the 16th, Turkish Foreign Minister Çavušoğlu said in an interview with the country’s media that despite the sanctions imposed by the United States, Turkey does not intend to make concessions on the S-400 issue.
“We will continue to take steps to make our defense industry more independent. We will not give in when it comes to the S-400.
( “The United States) sanctions are a wrong decision, and we will take (reciprocal) measures. He also called the sanctions a “unilateral measure” taken by the United States against Turkey’s “sovereignty”.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg previously said that NATO regrets the United States’ sanctions against Turkey for purchasing the S-400 system, and also regretted Turkey’s purchase of the system.
He said, “I regret that we are now in a situation where NATO members have to sanction each other, and I am also worried about the consequences of Turkey’s decision to purchase the Russian-made S-400 system.”
However, Greece, which is a member of NATO with Turkey and the United States, supports American sanctions. Greek Foreign Minister Nicos Dandias said on the 16th that Greece believes that the United States sanctions against Turkey are necessary.
He said, “Greece’s response is as a member of NATO, a country that regards NATO as a factor of stability in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea, Europe and the world.
In this case, I think these sanctions are necessary, not to punish Turkey, but to emphasize that Turkey has crossed the (permissible) line.
This is not only because Turkey has procured S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems that could endanger the lives of people in NATO member countries in the future, but also because of the actions taken by Turkey in the areas where we all live: the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, Libya, Syria, Iraq and our entire region.
Earlier, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement issued on the 14th that Greece welcomed the sanctions imposed by the United States on Turkey.
Local observers pointed out that Greece feared that Ankara might use the S-400 system to fight against Greek aircraft in the event of a military conflict with Turkey.
Previously, due to frictions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece sought EU sanctions against Turkey and asked EU countries to impose an arms embargo on Turkey.
