Wed 19 June 2019:
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United States is weighing three packages of sanctions against Turkey over purchasing Russian S-400 air defense systems, media reported Wednesday.
The US National Security Council and departments of State and Treasure are yet discussing the options, but the idea to target Turkey’s defence sector under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which hits entities doing business with Russia, gets widest support at the moment, Bloomberg reported with reference to three anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The media added that such sanctions would ban the Turkish defence sector companies from buying US components or selling their products in the United States.
The new sanctions could be imposed as early as in July, when Turkey begins receiving the first components of its S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia, the media reported. Washington has repeatedly objected purchase of the Russian-made defense systemsby its NATO ally, saying the S-400 is incompatible with the NATO security standards. On June 7, Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has formally warned Turkey that the delivery of 100 purchased F-35 fighter jets will be halted and F-35 training for Turkish pilots will be canceled if Ankara proceeds with purchasing the Russian systems.
In December 2017, Moscow and Ankara signed a loan agreement for the delivery of the S-400 air defense systems to Turkey. The first shipments of the S-400 are expected in June. In spite of the US threats to impose sanctions against Ankara, Turkish officials have said that the purchase of military equipment is a sovereign right and ruled out the possibility of abandoning plans to acquire the S-400 systems.
-Source: Sputnik
