The US Democratic Senator warns that a 2,5 billion-dollar Russian-Turkish deal could be concluded in violation of the new sanctions law that Trump opposed.
Turkey recently acquired the latest Russian anti-aircraft missiles, and this could be done in violation of American law, which is why sanctions can be automatically imposed on this NATO member country. This was announced on Thursday by a high-ranking American legislator from the Democratic Party.
A letter sent to the Trump administration by Maryland senator Ben Cardin said that the Ankara’s procurement agreement for the Russian C-400 anti-Russian missile system was signed on Tuesday in violation of the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by last month.
This law provides for sanctions "against those who conclude major transactions with the defense and intelligence sectors of the Russian Federation," wrote Cardin, who holds a senior position in the Senate Committee on International Relations. Trump's White House spoke out against sanctions, calling it a congressional encroachment on the president’s diplomatic activities.
“These are mandatory sanctions, reflecting the US desire to keep Russia from attacking the United States and its allies,” Cardin’s letter addressed to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said.
“Unfortunately, Turkey, being an ally of the United States, at the critical moment took the side of Moscow,” Cardin said.
The S-400 is the most advanced Russian anti-aircraft missile system, originally designed to intercept the US strategic aviation. The missile launch range is 400 kilometers. The complex can simultaneously hit 80 targets.
Kremlin-sponsored media such as RT and Sputnik presented the deal as a diplomatic breakthrough. In recent months, Moscow has been courting Turkey in every way, which has been a NATO member since 1952, trying to distance it from Western military allies.
The NATO leadership expressed concern over the 2,5 billion-dollar agreement, noting its negative diplomatic implications and the fact that the Russian equipment could appear in service with a NATO member. C-400 is currently not in service with any other member state of the North Atlantic Alliance. A NATO spokesman said that the alliance was not informed about the details of the deal, but stressed: "The allies themselves decide which military equipment they should buy."
Speaking on Wednesday in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that NATO itself was to blame for this, since it is not in a hurry to supply Turkey with the necessary weapons systems.
Turkish media quoted Erdogan saying that NATO "was frantic because of our agreement to purchase C-400." “And what could we do? To wait for you? We took care of ourselves, ”said the Turkish leader. He said that Turkey has made an advance payment for this system, which, in general, will cost 2,5 a billion dollars.
The State Department said that this purchase does not meet NATO standards for interoperability of military equipment, but did not say what the consequences would be.
On Tuesday, State Department spokesman Heather Nauert stated that the contract for the purchase of C-400 does not comply with the agreement of 2016 on the withdrawal of NATO military equipment by NATO members.
The Pentagon also expressed concern about this purchase.
“We expressed our concern to the Turkish authorities over the possible purchase of the C-400,” said Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael. “The anti-aircraft missile system, which is functionally compatible with NATO systems, is the best option for protecting Turkey against all possible threats in this region.”
Cardin asked the administration to analyze how the purchase of C-400 may affect Turkey’s membership in NATO and American military aid to Ankara, which includes supplies weapons. At a hearing in the Senate Committee on Armed Forces last week, the question of a ban on the supply of American weapons to Turkey was discussed.