Erdogan condemns move: Zarif says Iran stands with Turkey
TLTP
WASHINGTON
The US government imposed sanctions on Turkey over the acquisition and testing of the S-400 Russian defence missile system, further straining relations between the two NATO members.
The State Department announced the sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act, passed by Congress in 2017. It is designed to penalise any significant transactions with Russia. The estimated cost of the S-400 missile system is $2.5 billion.
Despite pressure from Congress, the Trump administration delayed sanctions on Ankara, even after the country installed the Russian system in July 2019 and began testing it in October.
“Today’s action sends a clear signal that the US will fully implement Caatsa Section 231 and will not tolerate significant transactions with Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
Pompeo said Turkey “knowingly [engaged] in a significant transaction with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s main arms export entity, by procuring the S-400 surface-to-air missile system”.
The sanctions include a ban on all US export licences and authorisations to Turkey’s Presidency of Defence Industries, Ankara’s military procurement agency, and an asset freeze and visa restrictions on Ismail Demir, its president, and other officers.
Christopher Ford, assistant secretary of state for international security, said the sanctions barred the Presidency of Defence Industries from obtaining US export licences.
Mr Ford said they prohibited it from receiving US loans of more than $10 million, banned assistance from the Export-Import Bank of the US and required Washington to use its influence with international financial institutions to block loans to the agency.
“I would in no way underestimate the importance of cutting off the main military procurement entity of a military ally from items coming from the US defence industrial base,” he said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hit out at new US sanctions, saying that he expected backing from his country’s NATO ally, not punishment. In a speech on Monday, Erdogan said that Turkey would not be deterred in defending itself by either US sanctions, or those agreed by the EU in response to the country’s gas drilling in Mediterranean waters claimed by Cyprus.
“We expect support from our NATO ally, America, in our fight against terrorist organisations and forces … not sanctions,” Erdogan said.
A spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Ankara “condemns” the sanctions and said allegations that its new weaponry could jeopardize NATO systems are “devoid of any technical merit.”
He added that Ankara would “take the necessary steps” against what it called a “grave mistake” by the US, while also claiming that President Donald Trump had previously repeatedly admitted that Turkey’s acquisition of the S-400 was “justified.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that Iran condemns US sanctions against regional rival Turkey and stands “with its people in government” in the face of Washington’s pressure.
In a damning tweet on Tuesday, Zarif said the US showed its “addiction to sanctions and contempt for international law” by targeting Turkey, and expressed support for the country.
It was a rare gesture of solidarity between two neighbors that rarely get along. Iran and Turkey are on opposing side of Islam’s sectarian divisions and have clashed on a range of issues, most visibly in Syria, where they support competing parties of the protracted civil war.
