ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday called US sanctions against Ankara over its purchase of a Russian missile defence system an “open attack” on the Nato member state’s sovereignty.
The United States made good on months of threats to punish Turkey for buying the S-400 system under a 2017 law known as CAATSA, which aims to limit Russia’s military influence and punish it for its behaviour abroad.
Erdogan noted that sanctions had never before been used against a fellow member of Nato.
“Sanctions are imposed on our country, a Nato member. What kind of an alliance is this?” Erdogan asked during a televised speech in Ankara.
“This decision is an open attack on our sovereignty,” he added.
Washington had already punished Ankara in July by barring it from developing parts for and acquiring America’s next-generation F-35 fighter jets.
This week’s punitive measures included a ban on all US export licences and loan credits for Turkey’s military procurement agency.
Its president Ismail Demir and three other executives were also barred from travel or holding assets in the US.
The State Department said the sanctions “are not intended to undermine the military capabilities or combat readiness of Turkey... but rather to impose costs on Russia in response to its wide range of malign activities”.
But in his first public comments about the sanctions, Erdogan called them unjust. — AFP
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