Turkey Threatens US with Retaliation if Sanctions Are Imposed

Ankara is threatening retaliation against Washington if hit by sanctions.

The warning comes as the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on measures against Turkey over its procuring of Russian defense systems.

“U.S. lawmakers must understand they will get nowhere with impositions,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday during a television interview. “If the United States approaches us positively, we will also react positively. But if they take negative toward us, then we will retaliate.”

A U.S. Senate committee passed legislation Wednesday targeting Turkey and Turkish officials and institutions. The measures are in response to Ankara’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile system, which is deemed to violate Congress’s Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).