European News Agency, December 15, local time, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that if sanctions are imposed by the United States, Turkey will reciprocate. He stressed that no matter what the consequences, Ankara will not cancel the agreement to purchase the S-400 air defense missile defense system from Russia.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
According to reports, the 2019 Doha Forum was held in Doha, the capital of Qatar from the 14th to the 15th. Cavusoglu told the Al Jazeera reporter in the forum that sanctions are just threatening language and will never work. However, if the United States imposes sanctions, Türkiye will also reciprocate.
Turkey purchased the S-400 air defense missile defense system from Russia, and thus had a feud with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally of the United States. Washington believes that Russian-made weapons are incompatible with the NATO defense system and will pose a threat to the F-35 warfare agencies.
For Türkiye's procurement of S-400 and sending troops to Syrian , the US Congress Senate Foreign Affairs Committee voted earlier this week to pass a resolution to impose a sanctions bill on Ankara to deliver to the Senate for vote. This is the latest move by the legislative department to pressure US President Trump to take a tougher stance against Türkiye, and Ankara immediately condemned it.
U.S. President Trump signed in 2017 to authorize sanctions on countries that have business dealing with the Russian military. The US government has not sanctioned Türkiye for the S-400 procurement case. Turkey and the United States have already been tense. After Türkiye began to receive the S-400 system, Washington has kicked Ankara out of its F-35 fighter development plan. Türkiye is a partner and buyer of the F-35 fighter jet program.
Cavusoglu said that the S-400 procurement case is indeed necessary. He said Türkiye urgently needs air defense system , and tried to purchase the United States and other countries but failed to do so. For Turkey, this is a life-and-death defense system.
Türkiye launched a cross-border "Fourth of Peace" operation in early October and sent troops into Syria to crack down on the Syrian democratic forces led by the Kurdish-led military alliance, triggering a rebound in the US political arena. The U.S. military fought side by side with the Syrian Democratic Forces during the fight against the radical armed group Islamic State (IS).
The People's Defense Army, a Kurdish militia group, is the main force of the Syrian democratic force. But Türkiye believes that the People's Defense Forces, a Kurdish militia group, is a Syrian branch of the Kurdish Workers' Party. The PKK has sought to establish an independent Kudian state and has carried out bloody rebellions in parts of Turkey for more than 30 years, and has been recognized as terrorist organizations by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.
Cavusoglu pointed out that there are still some unresolved issues in Turkey and the United States relations. He stressed that the United States remains our ally because Trump understands and cherishes his relationship with us. But we hope that the United States will escape its ties with the People's Defense Forces and the Workers' Party of Kurds, which are threats to Türkiye's national security. Türkiye remains a loyal member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (Yang Jingshu)