According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump signed Turkish sanctions for buying Russian S-400 defense system.
Mr. Trump has approved the package of Turkish sanctions proposed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and can announce the content on December 11.
The embargo was mainly aimed at the General Department of Defense Industry under the Turkish government, with its head, Ismail Demir. This bureau is believed to have promoted the Turkish purchase of Russian S-400 missiles.
“Whatever the embargo, don’t delay,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during the ruling party meeting in Malatya city last year, talking about threats of US sanctions.What is special is the fact that Trump has signed on to the Turkish sanctions that came after his counterpart Erdogan challenged the US to punish him with accusations of Ankara for engaging in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and deploying S missiles. -400.
Along with that, Demir leader in November 2019 also confirmed that Turkey bought the S-400 for use, not for disposal at the request of the US.
Experts say that, although not as comprehensive as previously predicted information, it is enough to make the Turkish defense industry suffer.
Because according to Defense News, along with the ban just signed by Mr. Trump, key members and many members of the US Congress decided to block many arms deals between the US and Turkey. This ban is in effect for 2 years starting from December 2020.
The biggest deals banned include the contract to upgrade the entire fleet of F-16 fighters to new standards, stop exporting engines for the production of T129 ATAK attack helicopters.
Thus, the US ban is a quite serious problem for Turkey because the US is Ankara’s largest arms seller. This ban also meant that many of Turkey’s domestic weapons programs were delayed in completion
With a ban on engines for the T129 ATAK, the US could cost Turkey billions of dollars because Ankara is currently negotiating with Pakistan and the Philippines on the sale of this mass of attack helicopters.
In the meantime, continued production of the new HISAR A – air defense system equivalent to Patriot is also not possible. While existing systems in Turkish equipment will not be maintained to ensure combat capability …
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch and House Foreign Affairs Senior Member Mike McCaul, admitting the ban took effect since the beginning of the month, but so far this information has only been revealed to the media.
Currently, Turkey has no official response from the US ban.