President Trump placed sanctions on Turkey for purchasing a Russian anti-aircraft defense missile system, delivering a long-awaited punishment in a controversy that threatens the unity of NATO.
“We engaged in months and months of diplomacy with the Turkish government at every level to help Turkey find an off-ramp from the procurement of the S-400 system while still ensuring its legitimate national security needs are met,” State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Palmer, a senior member of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, told reporters Monday. “Imposing sanctions on a NATO ally is not something we take lightly.”
Turkey’s insistence on completing the purchase ran afoul of a sanctions law originally designed to punish Russia’s defense industry by sanctioning any customers who engage in “significant transactions” with Russian arms dealers. United States officials have boasted of their ability to drive business away from Russia, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to purchase the advanced anti-aircraft weaponry threw a wrench into that effort and the NATO alliance.
“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,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a bulletin announcing the sanctions.
The announcement was welcomed on Capitol Hill, where senior lawmakers in both parties have chafed at Trump’s apparent hesitance to risk another dispute with a leader whom he has praised as a “very good friend” during his presidency.
“These sanctions … are long overdue,” said Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican who worked to include language in the just-passed annual defense bill requiring Trump to comply with the existing sanctions law, on Monday.
Turkey’s membership in NATO complicated the Trump administration’s internal debate over how to respond to the Russian arms deal, State Department officials acknowledged. The administration opted to target Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries — Ankara’s “main military procurement agency,” as another State Department official put it — and other punishments that fell on the milder end of the scale.
“This is not a trivial step to be taking with, especially, a close NATO ally,” said Christopher Ashley Ford, who leads the State Department’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation.
The sanctions include a ban on the transfer of technology to the Turkish agency and a provision to restrict the agency’s ability to draw loans from American banks, as well as visa restrictions on agency President Ismail Demir.
The S-400 sanctions come at a difficult time in Turkey’s relationship with NATO allies, as Erdogan’s truculence in a maritime dispute with Greece has angered the U.S. and other leading NATO governments. European Union officials agreed last week to impose sanctions on Turkey, though the details of the sanctions will be delayed until the bloc can consult with President-elect Joe Biden’s administration next year.
“Turkey is more at odds with Russia than it is seeking to cooperate with Russia,” Palmer said, referring to conflicts and disputes in Syria, Libya, and the disputed border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. “Fundamentally, Turkey’s strategic interests should lie in building the best … possible and strongest partnership with its NATO allies.”
And while the new sanctions met with approval in Congress, there’s a clear appetite for additional punishments if Erdogan refuses to relent.
“Turkey is a NATO ally but is not behaving like one,” said Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican who referred to the sanctions as a “right first step” in responding to Erdogan’s policies. “The United States should also impose targeted sanctions on officials and entities responsible for the purchase and use of the S-400 if Turkey does not reverse course.”
