Washington's imposition of sanctions against Ankara over the purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems is a manifestation of disregard for international law, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"This is, of course, yet another manifestation of an arrogant attitude toward international law, a manifestation of illegitimate, unilateral coercive measures that the United States has been using for years - for decades now - left and right. And of course this, I think, does not add credibility to the United States in the international arena as a responsible participant in the international division of labor, including in the sphere of military-technical cooperation," said the Minister.
Earlier on Monday, the US Treasury Department announced that Washington imposed sanctions on Turkey's Defense Industry Authority, its head Ismail Demir and three other citizens of the republic. A subsequent statement by US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo noted that the restrictions were imposed because of Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.
Russia and Turkey signed a contract in 2017 for Moscow to supply Ankara with S-400 systems. Turkey was the first NATO country to purchase these systems from Russia. Ankara's decision caused a sharply negative reaction from the United States and the alliance as a whole. The United States has not stopped trying to get Turkey to give up its Russian SAMs. Erdogan said in October that Ankara did not intend to give up the S-400, despite the US pressure. He also rejected threats of sanctions and suggested that the US stop threatening Turkey with them and try to actually impose them.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS