The steps the United States has taken to sanction Turkey over its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense systems are disrespectful and will deteriorate relations between Ankara and Washington, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2019) The steps the United States has taken to sanction Turkey over its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense systems are disrespectful and will deteriorate relations between Ankara and Washington, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee approved a bill on sanctioning Turkey through the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. The sanctions, if passed by the Senate and enacted by the president, may include freezing Turkey's assets, restricting visas and limiting access to credit.
"The initiatives conducted in both houses of the Congress through internal political considerations and supported by known anti-Turkish circles, are yet another manifestation of the disrespect shown towards our sovereign decisions concerning our national security. Those initiatives have no other function than to harm Turkish-U.S. relations," the ministry said in a statement.
The US House of Representatives passed a similar bill in late October.
"Attempts to bring this new draft bill to the Senate floor show that our explanations fall on deaf ears. We call upon the U.S. Congress to adopt a constructive approach safeguarding our common objectives to develop Turkish-U.S. relations which were confirmed at the highest level in recent weeks and to act in a reasonable manner," the statement read.
Deliveries of the first batch of the Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to Turkey began in July and ended in October. The systems are expected to be fully operational in April. Washington fears that the weaponry is incompatible with NATO security standards and might compromise the operation of US-made F-35 fighter jets. Turkey has insisted that it would continue to accept further deliveries of the S-400 systems. The second batch may be delivered by the end of next year.
