Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated that he may close the country’s Incirlik Air Base, which is home to dozens of American nuclear warheads, if the United States imposes sanctions on the country.
“If it is necessary for us to take such a step, of course we have the authority,” he said on Sunday. “If this is necessary, together with our delegations, we will close down Incirlik if necessary.”
He also indicated that Turkey could consider closing down a U.S. Army site in the small Turkish village of Kurecik, saying, “If they are threatening us with the implementation of these sanctions, of course we will be retaliating.”
Erdogan’s warning comes after a Senate committee approved a bill calling for economic sanctions last week following Turkey’s acquiring of Russia’s S-400 missile defense system and its incursion into northern Syria.
The U.S. still hosts about 50 nuclear bombs at Incirlik, which has been a strategic base since the early days of the Cold War, after removing about 40 other nuclear bombs from the site since 2000. Pentagon officials are reviewing plans to remove the weapons, despite President Trump’s insistence earlier this year that they are safe.
A separate bill passed by Congress last week recognizing and condemning the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in the 20th century also added to tensions between Turkey and the U.S. Earlier this week, Erdogan threatened to respond to the legislation, which was a direct rebuke of the NATO ally, by recognizing the deaths of Native Americans as a genocide.
Despite calls from congressional lawmakers to sanction Turkey, the president has not yet provided any indication that he plans to move forward with recommended penalties.
