Greece has welcomed the US sanctions against two ministries and three officials of Turkey announced by the State Department on Monday. Greece welcomed the announced US sanctions against the top Turkish defense development body, its president and three employees.
In a statement, the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry said, “Greece, a member-state of NATO, is observing with satisfaction today’s announcement of the US Department of Treasury related to sanctions against the Turkish Republic’s Directorate of Defense Industry, the directorate’s president, as well as other officials, in application of Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).”
According to US State Department announcement, the sanction are imposed against the ministries of National Defense and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, against the two ministers as well as the Minister of Interior.
The move, while focused on the defense sector, including Turkey’s Defense Industries Directorate (SSB), has drawn a condemnation from NATO-ally Ankara and is likely to further strain Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s relations with Western allies, Reuters reported earlier.
Turkey has condemned and rejected the U.S. “decision to impose unilateral sanctions.”
In a statement the Foreign Ministry in Ankara said among others that “the U.S. recourse to unilateral sanctions, by refusing our proposal to solve this matter through dialogue and diplomacy as befitting two allies, is completely senseless.”
Ankara threatened to “retaliate in a manner and timing it deems appropriate” and urged Washington to “reconsider this unfair decision and to rectify this grave mistake as soon as possible.”
PS Will Turkey try to “trade” with US presence in Incirlik base?
