Ankara and Washington have started talks to form a joint working group regarding Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems and the U.S. sanctions stemming from it, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Dec. 30.
Speaking at a news conference, Çavuşoğlu said the working group had not been formed yet but talks among experts had begun.
Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey had itself had earlier proposed a joint working group on the sanctions, which target Turkey’s Defense Industries Presidency (SSB), including SSB head Ismail Demir and three other officials.
“Now the proposal came from the US. As we naturally always favor dialogue, we said yes, and negotiations began at the level of experts,” he said during a meeting reviewing foreign policy developments in 2020.
Underscoring that opinions differ as to whether the sanctions are heavy or not, he said imposing sanctions is a misstep both politically and legally.
“It is an attack on our sovereign rights,” he stressed.
On Dec. 14, through its Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the US imposed sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.
In April 2017, when its protracted efforts to buy an air defense system from the U.S. proved futile, Turkey signed a contract with Russia to acquire the state-of-art missile shield.
U.S. officials have voiced opposition to their deployment, claiming they would be incompatible with NATO systems and would expose F-35 jets to possible Russian subterfuge.
Turkey, however, stressed that the S-400s would not be integrated into NATO systems, and poses no threat to the alliance or its armaments.
Turkish officials have repeatedly proposed a working group to examine the technical compatibility issue.
Turkey eyes predictable ties with new US administration - Türkiye News
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has underlined that the Turkish government wants “predictable” bilateral ties and a good dialogue with the new U.S. administration despite existing problems between the two allies, including Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 systems from Russia and...
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