US set to slap sanctions on Turkey over S-400 deal with Russia — report
Title : US set to slap sanctions on Turkey over S-400 deal with Russia — report
Link : US set to slap sanctions on Turkey over S-400 deal with Russia — report
The United States was reportedly set to announce sanctions against Turkey as early as Friday over the country’s acquisition last year of S-400 air defense systems from Russia, likely worsening bilateral ties in the tail-end of US President Donald Trump’s term.
The sanctions will target Turkey’s Presidency of Defence Industries and its head, Ismail Demir, and will be “damaging but narrower than the severe scenarios some analysts have outlined,” the Reuters news agency reported Thursday night, citing five unnamed sources, including three US officials.
The move would further batter Turkey’s economy, which is already struggling with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and battling double-digit inflation. The report said the Turkish lira lost some 1.4 percent in anticipation of the sanctions.
The US contends that the S-400 missiles pose a threat to fellow NATO members. It has previously removed Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program over the matter. However, it has also sought to avoid pushing Turkey even closer to Russia.
Trump has given his blessing for the sanctions, the report said, even though some of the sources noted that the decision ultimately wasn’t entirely up to him.
Trump, who developed a working relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has long opposed sanctions against Turkey over the S-400 deal, the report said, even though officials internally recommended such measures as early as July 2019.
But a $740 billion annual defense authorization bill, set to be voted on by the US Senate in the coming days, would force the president to impose sanctions on Turkey within 30 days. By imposing sanctions now, Trump is avoiding looking like his hand is being forced, one source told Reuters.
An unnamed Turkish official cited in the report commented that “sanctions would not achieve a result but be counter-productive. They would harm relations. Turkey is in favor of solving these problems with diplomacy and negotiations. We won’t accept one-sided impositions.” READ MORE
US set to slap sanctions on Turkey over S-400 deal with Russia — report
US set to slap sanctions on Turkey over S-400 deal with Russia — report
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