US Plans to Sanction Turkey for Russian S-400 Missiles

The U.S. plans to impose sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of S-400 missiles after years of drama that began with the NATO ally’s decision to buy the air-defense system from Russia in 2017.

President Donald Trump has signed off on a package of measures recommended by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, according to two people familiar with the matter. The people didn’t say what the sanctions would include.

The sanctions would be imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, known as CAATSA. Trump, who has long highlighted his personal rapport with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had resisted bipartisan calls from Congress to punish Turkey for its deal with Russia.

The White House National Security Council didn’t respond to a request for comment. Officials at the Treasury Department and State Department also didn’t respond.

The lira fell after Reuters earlier reported that the sanctions would likely target Turkey’s defense officials, including the chief of the top defense procurement agency. The currency dropped as much as 1.7% on Friday and was trading 1.4% lower at 7.9930 per dollar at 12:14 p.m. in Istanbul.

Ankara has argued that the air-defense system is an urgent need given the military conflicts surrounding the country, and said allies including the U.S. failed to offer it any alternatives — such as the Patriot system — on terms acceptable to Turkey.

“We have political and economic relations with the U.S. and the European Union, which neither side can ignore or want to lose,” Erdogan said in televised remarks on Friday, urging Washington and the EU not to bow to lobby groups hostile to his country.

Speaking to reporters a day earlier, he said it would be a sign of “disrespect” if the U.S. ended up sanctioning such an important NATO ally.

Turkey’s decision to buy the S-400 did have one cost: it was essentially expelled from the U.S.-led F-35 program. The country, a member of NATO, had planned to buy about 100 of the next-generation fighters built by Lockheed Martin Corp., and while Turkey continues to manufacture some key components for the fighter jet, that is expected to wind down in 2022.

A chief U.S. concern is that the S-400 could be used to collect intelligence on the stealth capabilities of the F-35.

The relationship between Washington and Ankara has been fraught over a number of problems that go well beyond Turkey’s decision to buy advanced military hardware from Russia. The two nations are also at odds over U.S. support for Syrian Kurdish militants who Turkey considers to be terrorists. Turkey has also clashed with the U.S. in its conflict with Cyprus and Greece over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean.