Alwaght- US national security adviser Robert O’Brien said on Sunday Washington is very upset about Turkey’s purchase of Russian missile defense systems and could impose sanctions on Ankara if it does not “get rid” of them.
US national security adviser Robert O’Brien said on CBS “We’re very upset,” adding that President Donald Trump will tell his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that NATO is “no place” for “significant Russian military purchases.”
“That’s a message that the president will deliver to him very clearly when he’s here in Washington.”
“Turkey will feel the impact of those sanctions,” O’Brien said referring to penalties under the US law known as the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which he said would pass Congress with “overwhelming” bipartisan support.
His comments came ahead of a visit by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to Washington on Nov. 13 to meet U.S. President Donald Trump for likely crucial talks as the two NATO allies have been at loggerheads over a range of issues.
He further repeated Trump’s long held stance that “cracks … have formed” in North Atlantic Treaty Organization because not all members are “paying their fair share.”
The American and Turkish presidents are set to meet this week and hold a joint news conference.
‘NATO’s brain death’
According to the US, Turkey’s decision to purchase the Russian S-400 system could aid Russian intelligence and threaten a vital American aircraft, the F-35 fighter jet.
Trump’s unwillingness to help NATO has also made other allies complain, with French President Emmanuel Macron, saying on Thursday that the organization is suffering a “brain death.”
“You have partners together in the same part of the world, and you have no coordination whatsoever of strategic decision-making between the United States and its NATO allies. None,” Macron told The Economist. “Strategically and politically, we need to recognize that we have a problem.”
