Washington imposes sanctions on Ankara's defense industry over acquisition of S-400 missile system from Russia • Turks outraged: "This is a serious mistake"
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan // Photo: Reuters
The United States today imposed sanctions on the Turkish government, in response to the acquisition of the S-400 air defense system from Russia and after a long diplomatic effort to get Ankara to reverse its decision.
Sanctions include a ban on export licenses to the United States, a moratorium on assets and restrictions on entry visas to the United States for Turkish arms industry leaders.
The sanctions could severely hurt the Turkish economy, which is in a severe recession after a year of severe economic blows to the local economy, including rising inflation and massive unemployment.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan referred to the sanctions during a cabinet meeting in Ankara and said: "From our ally within the NATO alliance, we expect cooperation in the war on terror and not sanctions.
This is a serious and serious mistake. "
The United States has expressed outrage over Turkey's decision to acquire the Russian defense system, despite Ankara's claim that it does not pose a threat to any of NATO members. The Trump administration has for some time delayed sanctions on Turkey's economy, apparently due to A desire to maintain good relations with the Erdogan government due to the American presence in Syria.
The United States has even removed Turkey from its state-of-the-art evasive aircraft project and sold the first six aircraft destined for Turkey to Greece, which is in territorial dispute with Turkey, a conflict that has caused a diplomatic rift between the two countries in recent months.