15 December 2020

US government sanctions Turkey over S-400 buy

by Charles Forrester

The US government announced the imposition of sanctions on Turkey’s defence acquisition organisation on 14 December under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) over the Turkish acquisition of Russian S-400 (SA-21 ‘Growler’) air-defence system.

Under the sanctions, Washington is targeting Turkey’s defence procurement organisation: the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB). Blocking sanctions and visa restrictions through the Department of the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List were also announced against the SSB’s president: Ismail Demir. Senior SSB personnel including SSB vice-president Faruk Yigit, the head of the SSB’s air-defence and space department Serhat Gencoglu, and programme manager for the SSB’s regional air-defence systems directorate Mustafa Alper Deniz were also added to the SDN list. Through the SDN listing, all property and property interests within the US are blocked and US persons are generally prohibited from transacting with them.

The US has also launched a prohibition on granting export licences for all goods or technology transfer to the SSB; prohibiting loans to the SSB greater than USD10 million from a US financial institution in a 12-month period; a requirement for the US to oppose loans benefitting the SSB by international financial institutions; and a ban on support from the US Export-Import Bank for exports to the SSB.

The US has sanctioned the Turkish defence procurement organisation, the SSB, over the country’s acquisition of the S-400 ground-based air-defence system (Turkish Ministry of National Defence)

“Today’s action sends a clear signal that the United States will fully implement CAATSA Section 231 and will not tolerate significant transactions with Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors,” US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in a statement.

The US government announced the imposition of sanctions on Turkey’s defence acquisition organisation...

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