WASHINGTON, Dec 18, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Top US diplomat Mike Pompeo has
assured his Turkish counterpart that American sanctions imposed on Ankara for
its acquisition of a Russian missile defense system were not intended to
weaken the country’s military capabilities.
Pompeo spoke this week with Mevlut Cavusoglu and “stressed that the goal of
the sanctions is to prevent Russia from receiving substantial revenue,
access, and influence,” State Department spokesperson Cale Brown said
Thursday.
The sanctions imposed over the S-400 system “are not intended to undermine
the military capabilities or combat readiness of Turkey or any other US Ally
or partner,” Brown said in a statement.
Pompeo also “urged Turkey to resolve the S-400 issue in a manner consistent
with our decades-long history of defense-sector cooperation and to re-commit
itself to its NATO obligations to purchase NATO-interoperable weaponry.”
Washington on Monday made good on threats to punish Turkey for buying the
major Russian missile defense system, imposing rare sanctions against a NATO
ally.
It specifically targeted Turkey’s military procurement agency, banning all
US export licenses and loan credits for the agency, and said it would not
allow its president to travel or hold assets in the United States.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday denounced the US move.
“What kind of an alliance is this?” Erdogan asked during a televised speech
in Ankara. “This decision is an open attack on our sovereignty.”