ANKARA: Turkey said Monday it does not fear US sanctions over its decision to buy a Russian missile defense system that has frayed ties between the NATO allies.
The US has given Turkey a deadline of July 31 to drop the purchase of the S-400 system, or face sanctions and removal from its F-35 fighter jet program.
“Regardless of whatever sanctions there may be, whatever the messages from America, we’ve bought the S-400,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara.
He said Turkey was working on the date for the system’s delivery, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said would be in the first half of July.
“If there’s an attack on Turkey tomorrow, we cannot expect NATO to protect us because NATO’s capacity would only protect 30 percent of Turkey’s airspace,” Cavusoglu said.
Turkey will no longer allow other countries to dictate its defense purchases, he said.
Relations between Washington and Ankara have deteriorated over multiple issues, including the S-400 deal and US support for a Syrian Kurdish militia viewed as terrorists by Turkey.
Sanctions could cause damage at a time when Turkey’s economy is already struggling.
Its currency lost a third of its value last year, in part due to temporary US sanctions over the detention of an American pastor.
Turkey has plans to buy 100 F-35s, and has lucrative contracts to build parts of the jet.
Erdogan said last week he would use his “good” relationship with US counterpart Donald Trump to defuse the crisis when they meet at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan this week.
Turkey unafraid of US sanctions over S-400 deal: Foreign minister
Turkey unafraid of US sanctions over S-400 deal: Foreign minister
- US has given Turkey a deadline of July 31 to drop the purchase
- Relations between Washington and Ankara have deteriorated over multiple issues
Syrian forces foil attempt to smuggle rockets and missiles into Lebanon
- Vehicle carrying the weapons seized during raid in Al-Jarajir, a village in Rif Dimashq Governorate, Interior Ministry says
LONDON: Security forces in the Syrian Arab Republic foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons into Lebanon on Monday.
An Interior Ministry official said officers intercepted and seized a vehicle during a raid in Al-Jarajir village, in the An-Nabek District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. It contained nine Konkurs guided missiles, 68 rocket-propelled grenade charges, two 107 mm rockets, and five boxes of machine gun ammunition.
The weapons were destined for Lebanon, the official confirmed. Internal Security Directorate units in Al-Qusayr, Homs and An-Nabek took part in the raid on the smugglers’ hideout in Al-Jarajir, where the weapons were stored. They also discovered Russian-made ammunition magazines and a scope for a gun.
The operation was part of the efforts by the Interior Ministry to combat smuggling, secure Syria’s borders and maintain national security and stability, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Last month, Syrian security forces prevented an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of rocket-propelled grenade shells into Lebanon from the Zabadani region of the Damascus countryside.
