US House of Representatives Approves Sanctions Against Turkey

The U.S. Congress's House of Representatives has approved a measure to impose mandatory sanctions against Turkey in connection with the purchase of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defense systems, reports Ermenihaber.am.

This initiative is part of the defense budget bill for the fiscal year 2021, which began on October 1.

“Not later than 30 days after this law comes into effect, the President of the United States must apply five or more restrictive measures outlined in section 235 of the ‘Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act’ against any person who knowingly participated in the acquisition of S-400 systems,” states the budget proposal, which has garnered support from lawmakers.

The proposal is expected to be discussed soon by the U.S. Senate. If approved by the upper house of the American legislature, it will be sent for the president's signature. In turn, current U.S. administration head Donald Trump has previously criticized several points of this document and promised to veto the bill.

It should be noted that Russia and Turkey signed an agreement in 2017 for the supply of S-400 systems from Moscow to Ankara. Turkey was the first country in NATO to acquire these systems from Russia. Ankara's decision provoked a sharply negative reaction from the U.S. and the alliance in general.

The U.S. has been trying to compel Turkey to abandon Russian air defense systems. Washington removed Ankara from the American F-35 production program. Additionally, the United States threatens Turkey with unilateral sanctions for purchasing the S-400, but is hesitant to take such steps due to fears of further escalating relations with a key NATO ally, while Ankara warns that it will not leave such restrictions unanswered.