Russia opposes unilateral imposition of US sanctions against Turkey due to Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing in response to question from Vestnik Kavkaz correspondent.
“We're against any sanctions that haven't passed relevant structures of the UN Security Council. Unilateral sanctions, from our point of view, are not legitimate,” she said.
"The pressure exerted on countries through sanctions mechanism are against the norms of international relations, which are recorded in a large number of international legal documents and bilateral plan, as well as those basic foundations that serve as the basis for international structures," diplomat stressed.
"That's why we're categorically against any sanction pressure, the use of sanction tools, it doesn't matter whether it's financial system, economy, humanitarian sphere. It can't be used to resolve contradictions or any other problems between the states," Maria Zakharova summed up.
The supply of the latest Russian S-400 air defense systems began in mid-July and caused a crisis in relations between Washington and Ankara. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier that the S-400 will be fully operational in April of next year.
