Greece welcomed US sanctions against individuals linked to Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries for the purchase of the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system.
"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)," the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
Specifically, the targeted individuals are İsmail Demir, Mustafa Alper Deniz, Serhat Gençoğlu and Faruk Yiğit.
Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries also cannot:
- Get export licenses from the US
- Loans from the US financial institutions
- Loans from international institutes
- EXIM bank loans
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “Today’s sanctions on Turkey’s SSB demonstrates the U.S. will fully implement CAATSA. We will not tolerate significant transactions with Russia’s defense sector,” he added.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said he was upset by the United States and EU moving forward with sanctions processes, saying Turkey expected the EU "not to sanction it but rather to realise its promise of full (EU) membership."
Erdoğan says sanctions would not have a big impact on Turkey
