U.S. Senators warned NATO ally Turkey that they would trigger new sanctions if it goes ahead with plans to purchase additional Russian missile defense systems.
"We were crystal clear when we wrote the CAATSA law: Sanctions are mandated for any entity that does significant business with the Russian military or intelligence sectors. Any new purchases by Turkey must mean new sanctions," Senate Foreign Relations Committee wrote on Twitter.
The office of Senate Foreign Relations Chair Robert Menendez responded by warning that sanctions were mandated by law for "any entity that does significant business with the Russian military or intelligence sectors." "Any new purchases by Turkey must mean new sanctions," he said on Twitter.
The U.S. has already imposed penalties on Turkey’s defense industry over the initial missile purchase, saying the Russian system could be used to gather intelligence on Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 stealth jet. It previously suspended Turkish defense contractors from the international program to help build the F-35. Turkey has so far refused to jettison the first S-400 battery it acquired in 2019.
