US plans to sanction Turkey for buying Russian S-400 missiles
The U.S. plans to impose sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of S-400 missiles after years of drama that began with the NATO ally’s decision to buy the air-defense system from Russia in 2017, Bloomberg reports.
President Donald Trump has signed off on a package of measures recommended by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, according to two people familiar with the matter. The people didn’t say what the sanctions would include.
The sanctions would be imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, known as CAATSA. Trump, who has long highlighted his personal rapport with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had resisted bipartisan calls from Congress to punish Turkey for the deal with Russia.
The White House National Security Council didn’t respond to a request for comment. Officials at the Treasury Department and State Department also didn’t respond.
The lira fell after Reuters earlier reported that the sanctions would likely target Turkey’s defense officials, including the chief of the top defense procurement agency. The currency was trading 0.2% lower at 7.9011 per dollar at 9:33 a.m. in Istanbul.
Turkey’s decision to buy the S-400 did have one cost: the country was essentially expelled from the U.S.-led F-35 program. The country, a member of NATO, had planned to buy about 100 of the next-generation fighters built by Lockheed Martin Corp., and while Turkey continues to manufacture some key components for the fighter jet, that is expected to wind down in 2022.
A chief U.S. concern is that the S-400 could be used to collect intelligence on the stealth capabilities of the F-35.