Turkey is "saddened" by the intensification of sanctions rhetoric by the US and Europe, but the pressure will not stop Ankara from pursuing policies which serve its interests, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced.

"It is sad that the rhetoric of sanctions against our country has intensified recently in the United States and Europe. These measures against Turkey will not stop our attempts to defend our rights," Erdogan said, speaking to reporters in Ankara following a meeting of the cabinet of ministers on Monday.
"We are waiting not for sanctions, but for the EU to fulfill its promises, and for US support in our fight against terrorist organizations in the region," he added.

Sanctions Double Whammy

Erdogan's comments follow moves by the EU and the US to slap sanctions on Turkey, with Brussels agreeing on the expansion of existing personal sanctions over Ankara's unauthorized drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, while US lawmakers packed Turkey and S-400-related sanctions into the 2021 National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA). 

The NDAA, which was passed by the Senate on Friday, has yet to be signed into law by President Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly threatened to veto the bill over it lack of action on throttling Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a piece of internet legislation providing protections for internet publishers from liability for content posted by users. Trump is also displeased over the bill's proposal proposal to rename US military installations named after Civil War-era Confederate generals. Congress can override the president's veto with a two-thirds vote by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The provision in the bill on Turkey and the S-400s mandates the imposition of sanctions against Ankara under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, a law signed in 2017 which threatens sanctions against any nation making arms purchases from Moscow. The sanctions would step into effect 30 days after the bill is signed into law.

The European Union opened the door to new sanctions against Turkey at a summit on Friday, although the European Council stopped short of implementing new restrictions, such as an arms embargo or sanctions targeting various economci sectors. In a statement, the bloc accused Ankara of engaging "in unilateral actions and provocations" and of escalating "its rhetoric against the EU, EU Member States and European leaders."

Brussels reportedly plans to consult with the US, including the incoming Biden administration, before taking further action.

Along with the maritime territorial disputes with Greece and Cyprus, Turkey has been entangled in conflicts with several other nations in the region, including Syria -where it has sent troops and militias, to Damascus's anger, and western Libya, where Turkish troops and military supplies have helped prop up the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord. Turkey also provided support for Azerbaijan in its recent war with Armenia over the Armenian-held breakaway of Nagorno-Karabakh. In a visit to Baku, Azerbaijan late last week, Erdogan appeared to offend Iran's sensibilities after reciting a poem about Iranian Azerbaijan, a region of the Islamic Republic populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis, with his remarks interpreted as a possible irredentist provocation. Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have also engaged one another in a years-long public row which has included comparing one another to Hitler and engaging in war crimes.

source:sputniknews.com