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Turkish FM: We will not step back on S-400 issue

17 December 2020 12:56 (UTC +04:00)

“US sanction decision against Turkey is a wrong step from a legal and political point of view,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with 24 TV, APA reports.

He assessed the US sanctions decision as an attack on Turkey's sovereignty.

According to Turkish FM, his country purchased an S-400 air defense system from Russia before CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) and therefore a sanction cannot be imposed: “Everybody knows international law, as well as the US. But it can not be by saying “I want it so”. Sanction decision of US is also a mistake made against its ally.”

M. Cavusoglu has noted that he considers the position of NATO Secretary-General regarding the S-400 objective. “He told the concerns of our ally the United States. But, on the other hand, NATO Secretary-General said that each ally can ensure its needs in a matter of defense from anywhere. We said that if the US has concerns about technical issues, create a group of Turkish and American experts within NATO and they can investigate these concerns. The US did not accept this proposal. Turkey will not step back in the issue of S-400.”