The United States has clearly conveyed to Turkey that purchasing the Russian-manufactured S-400 air defense systems will bring about consequences, Assistant US Secretary of State Wess Mitchell said on Tuesday.
"We have been clear to Turkish officials, if they decide to move forward with the S-400 purchase, there will be consequences," Mitchell said during an event at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC.
In December, Russia and Turkey signed a loan agreement for the supply of S-400 air defense systems to Ankara. In late April, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey was also considering purchasing US-made Patriot missile defense system or other air defense systems from its NATO allies.
Speaking of the legal repercussions of purchasing the S-400 systems, Mitchell referred to the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA) and said the United States will abide by this law.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the United States has been seeking to discourage Turkey from contacts with the Russian defense sector, which is targeted by the US sanctions.
Mitchell noted that the United States has a complicated relationship with Turkey because it has been a long-term NATO ally, a vital partner in the campaign against terrorism and the Geneva process regarding settling the conflict in Syria.
The US approach toward Turkey has always been to address the country’s legitimate national security concerns, but on a number of issues Ankara has not responded with a reasonable solution, Mitchell said.
