December 14 the U.S. government announced sanctions on Turkey on the 14th on the grounds that Turkey purchased a Russian-made S-400 air defense system.
U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo said in a statement on the same day that the United States imposed sanctions on the Turkish Defense Industry Agency, which is responsible for purchasing the S-400 system.
Specific measures include prohibiting the issuance of export licenses and authorizations to the Bureau of Defense Industry for the export of U.S. products and technologies, and imposing property freezes and visa restrictions on several officials, including the director of the Bureau, Ismail Demir.
The statement said that the sanctions showed that the United States did not allow other countries to carry out large-scale transactions with Russian defense and intelligence services.
According to Turkish media reports, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned and rejected the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States on Turkey on the 14th, believing that the U.S. sanctions will damage bilateral relations and that Turkey will adopt reciprocal sanctions.
Recently, the United States and Turkey have been in conflict with issues such as Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean. Pompeo did not meet with senior Turkish officials when he visited Turkey last month.
Analysts believe that the sanctions will further strain the relationship between the two NATO allies.
“Turkey contracts with Russia to purchase S-400 anti-aircraft missile system in 2017” NATO countries such as the United States have repeatedly warned Turkey not to buy this Russian-made system, believing that the system is not compatible with NATO weapons systems and may help Russia locate and track F-35 fighters of the United States and its allies in the future.
Russia began to deliver the S-400 system to Turkey in July 2019, and the United States subsequently announced that it would suspend Turkey’s eligibility to participate in the F-35 fighter project.
Turkish President Erdoğan confirmed in October this year that Turkey has tested the S-400 system, saying that the test will continue and Turkey will not seek permission from the United States for this purpose.
