The US is pushing a NATO ally into the arms of the Russian military-industrial complex
The administration of US President Donald Trump has introduced new restrictions on military-technical cooperation with Turkey for its acquisition of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, applying the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to Ankara.
A PolitNavigator correspondent reports this, Kommersant writes.
“Today, the United States is imposing sanctions on Turkey's Defense Industry Authority for knowingly entering into significant transactions with Rosoboronexport, Russia's main arms export body, in the form of purchases of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
He also added that Turkey still has the opportunity to come to its senses and refuse to cooperate with the Russian military-industrial complex.
The Turkish Defense Industry Directorate came under US restrictions: in addition to personal sanctions against its leadership, new measures include a ban on issuing US export licenses and the transfer of any goods and technologies to the Turkish military-industrial complex.
Director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Ruslan Pukhov points out that for many decades Turkey has been one of the elements of containing Russia within NATO and for the Western world as a whole.
“However, today a paradoxical situation is emerging: the “collective West,” led by the United States, is doing everything to ensure that Turkey turns away from it. The latest manifestation of such an irrational approach was the sanctions against the defense industry management,” the expert believes.
“The decision announced by Secretary of State Pompeo will further alienate Turkey from the United States, and the damage caused to bilateral relations in Ankara will never be forgotten even after the departure of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
As for the Turkish leader personally, these sanctions can also be perceived as an attempt to annoy him, given that the defense industry is his favorite hobby,” said the publication’s interlocutor.
According to him, in response, Ankara will increase investments in the military-industrial complex, which opens up new opportunities for Russian-Turkish military-technical cooperation.
“For example, Russia can supply engines for Turkey’s first national fighter being created, and also agree on another contract for the supply of S-400,” Pukhov does not rule out the possibility.
As PolitNavigator reported, the military-industrial complex ignored the US threats.
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