News Desk
After Washington announced sanctions on Ankara over the purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems, the Turkish President has questioned the Turkey-US alliance.
The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the Trump administration for issuing further sanctions during a televised statement.
The Turkish leader labelled it an attack on the country’s sovereignty. He declared that his government will continue to strengthen its defense systems regardless of the consequences.
“What kind of alliance is this? What kind of partnership is this?” he asked, adding that this decision is an open hostile attack against our country’s sovereign rights.
United States (US) has imposed the sanctions on Monday under the US Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), marking the first time that it has taken such a step against a NATO ally.
The US State Department Assistant Secretary, Chris Ford, while explaining the decision, has said that we very much regret that this has been necessary and we very much hope that Turkey will work with us to resolve the 400 problem as quickly as possible.
According to Russia Today, this is not the first time US has attempted to punish Turkey for purchasing military equipment from Russia. The US removed Ankara from its F-35 fighter jets program after it took delivery of the first parts of the S-400 system last year.