Turkey targeted with US and EU sanctions over Russian missile, Greece gas sea row
- The United States plans to sanction Nato ally Turkey for buying Russian S-400 missiles in 2017
- EU to hit Turkey with sanctions over its controversial energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean
The United States is poised to impose sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition last year of Russian S-400 air defence systems, a move likely to worsen already problematic ties between the two Nato allies.
Separately, European Union leaders have decided to draw up a list of Turkish targets for sanctions in response to Ankara’s prospecting for gas in Greek and Cypriot waters.
President Donald Trump has signed off on a package of US measures recommended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to two people familiar with the matter. The people didn’t say what the sanctions would include.
The sanctions would be imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, known as CAATSA. Trump, who has long highlighted his personal rapport with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had resisted bipartisan calls from Congress to punish Turkey for the deal with Russia.
Ankara has argued that the air defence system is an urgent need given the military conflicts surrounding it, and said allies including the US failed to offer it any alternatives – such as the Patriot missile defence system – on terms acceptable to Turkey.
Turkey’s decision to buy the S-400 did have one cost: the country was essentially expelled from the US-led F-35 programme. The country had planned to buy about 100 of the next-generation fighters built by Lockheed Martin, and while Turkey continues to manufacture some key components for the jet, that is expected to wind down in 2022.