Thread: What Turkey's S-400 missile deal with Russia means for Nato

I will be interesting to see how the Islamist Psycho Erdogan will react.

US sanctions NATO ally Turkey for purchasing Russian missile system

Congress has pushed the Trump administration to implement penalties for years.

A year and a half after Turkey acquired a Russian missile defense system, violating U.S. sanctions law, President Donald Trump has implemented penalties against the NATO ally.
His refusal to implement those sanctions had drawn bipartisan ire in Congress, but authorizing them now has enraged Turkey, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, amid deteriorating relations between it and its Western allies like the U.S.
The sanctions, announced by the U.S. Treasury Monday, targeted Turkey's defense procurement agency, known as the Presidency of Defense Industries, and its senior officials, including its president.

Congress was about to force Trump's hand, passing its annual defense policy bill last week that required the White House to implement these sanctions within 30 days -- although a senior State Department official denied that had an impact on Trump's decision.
Turkey acquired the missile defense system, known as the S-400, in July 2019. The purchase violated a sweeping sanctions law passed in summer 2017 by wide margins in the House and Senate to force Trump to be tougher on Russia. Trump, who wanted to avoid an embarrassing veto override, begrudgingly signed the law.

The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, targeted Iran, North Korea, and Russia -- requiring sanctions on any country that made a "significant purchase" of defense or intelligence equipment from Moscow.
"Today's action sends a clear signal that the United States will fully implement CAATSA Section 231 and will not tolerate significant transactions with Russia's defense and intelligence sectors," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

"I also urge Turkey to resolve the S-400 problem immediately in coordination with the United States. Turkey is a valued Ally and an important regional security partner for the United States, and we seek to continue our decades-long history of productive defense-sector cooperation by removing the obstacle of Turkey's S-400 possession as soon as possible," he added.
Before today, the Trump administration had only used those sanctions once, penalizing China's defense procurement agency for its own S-400 purchase, along with Russian Sukhoi Su-35 combat aircraft.

After Turkey acquired the same missile system, Trump kicked the country out of the F-35 program, America's most sophisticated stealth fighter, including its role in helping produce the aircraft. At the time, the Pentagon said that Turkey's S400 would jeopardize the F-35's and harm NATO's ability to cooperate militarily -- something Turkey has denied.
Since Turkey's purchase, Republicans have joined Democrats in urging Trump to go further and sanction Ankara, which the president, who has called Erdogan a friend, refused to do. U.S. officials previously said that sanctions could be avoided if Turkey didn't employ the missile system, but Turkish officials test-fired it this October.
Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Monday's sanctions "long overdue."
In the face of that bipartisan pressure, Trump had repeatedly backed Erdogan in blaming the Obama administration for refusing to sell Turkey the U.S. Patriot missile defense system, which Trump argued forced Erdogan to turn to Russia instead.
"It's a mess. It's a mess, and honestly, it's not really Erdogan's fault," Trump said in 2019 when Russia began delivering the S400. "I think he was unfairly treated."...........

US sanctions NATO ally Turkey for purchasing Russian missile system - ABC News
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The Price of Turkey’s Russian Dalliance - WSJ

The Price of Turkey’s Russian Dalliance

Trump should impose sanctions against Ankara for purchasing the S-400.

The senators urged countries of the world to “consider who is a better trade partner: The U.S., with more than 20% of the world’s economy, or Russia, with an economy smaller than the economies of some U.S. states,” when choosing who to ally with.

EU leaders back sanctions on Turkey over gas drilling

EU leaders have agreed on limited sanctions targeting individuals and companies in response to Turkey's gas exploration in waters off the coast of Greece and Cyprus.


European Union leaders agreed on the first steps towards more comprehensive sanctions against Turkey over Ankara's unauthorized gas drilling off the coast of Greece and Cyprus, according to a decision released early Friday morning on the sidelines of the leaders' summit in Brussels.
In August, Turkey sent a gas exploration ship to survey the seabed in waters claimed by Cyprus and Greece, triggering a diplomatic row with the EU. Since then, Brussels has been weighing its options for pressuring Turkey to cease gas exploration in the region.

EU leaders back sanctions on Turkey over gas drilling | News | DW | 11.12.2020



"There was a young fellow from Ankara, Who was a terrific wankerer.

Till he sowed his wild oats, With the help of a goat, But he didn’t even stop to thankera."

B.J.

^^ Or China. Soon to be the Worlds biggest economy.

Originally Posted by sabang

^^ Or China. Soon to be the Worlds biggest economy.

You will then have to decide between democracy or communism.
I guess we already know your answer.
Could be your last free decision.

As long as they don't expect our soldiers to kill and be killed in foreign countries, in pursuit of losing wars that have nothing to do with us, they are more than welcome to come buy stuff from us.

Originally Posted by sabang

As long as they don't expect our soldiers to kill and be killed in foreign countries, in pursuit of losing wars that have nothing to do with us, they are more than welcome to come buy stuff from us.

And that is working out so well with Australia.

It was working great, until some mouthy right wing politicians still living in the previous century threw a spanner in the works. But Exports to China are still essential to our enviable living standards.
China has never tried to muscle us into buying their arnaments either.