“Turkey is a critical ally to the United States and NATO.  We’re partnered on many shared regional interests, global interests.  And we continue to seek a strong bilateral relationship, which includes expanded areas of cooperation and effective management where we have disagreements.  And like most countries, we do have our disagreements,” Antony Blinken said at a virtual event at Foreign Press Center (FPC).

Blinken asserted that the acquisition of the S-400 runs counter to commitments all allies made at the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw to reduce, not increase, dependencies on Russian equipment.

“The purchase of the S-400 endangers the security of the United States and allied military technology – personnel as well, and it undermines the cohesion of the alliance in which Turkey and the United States are both strong and leading members.  It also undermines the interoperability of the alliance, which is so critical to its being able to function effectively and to meet any challenges that it might face,” Blinken said, adding: ”Any significant transactions with Russian defense entities, again, could be subject to the law, to CAATSA, and that’s separate from and in addition to sanctions that have already been imposed.”

On 14 December 2020, the United States imposed the sanctions on Turkey, and the sanctions included a ban on all U.S. export licenses and authorizations to the country’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and an asset freeze and visa restrictions on Dr. Ismail Demir, SSB’s president, and other SSB officers.

Subsequently, many international policy analysts raised doubts that military sanctions on the NATO ally would weaken the alliance, effectively reducing Turkey's ability to obtain American technology for regional defense. (ILKHA)