Turkey bristles at EU, US sanction plans

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union would damage both sides and benefit nobody, and that ties between them should not be sacrificed as a result.

In a speech to his ruling AK Party officials, Erdogan called on US and EU politicians to break from the influence of anti-Turkey lobbies, saying there were no problems that cannot be resolved with dialogue and cooperation.

Erdogan said US sanctions over the S-400 air defence system, controversially purchased from Russia, would be “disrespectful” in comments published Friday after US media reported the measures were imminent.

Russia delivered the system last year to Ankara and Turkey tested the system in October -- in the face of Washington’s repeated condemnations and warnings over punitive measures.

US President Donald Trump, who once called Erdogan a “good friend”, avoided sanctioning Turkey under a 2017 law known as CAATSA, which lays out sanctions against nations that buy significant quantities of arms from US adversaries including Russia.

But with weeks left of his presidency, the Washington Post reported on Thursday on Trump’s plans to impose sanctions against Ankara “in the coming days for purchasing and testing” the S-400s.

Meanwhile, EU leaders decided on Friday to draw up a list of Turkish targets for sanctions in response to Ankara’s prospecting for gas in Greek and Cypriot waters.

“Turkey has engaged in unilateral actions and provocations and escalated its rhetoric against the EU, EU Member States and European leaders,” a statement said after a debate at a summit in Brussels.

“Turkish unilateral and provocative activities in the Eastern Mediterranean are still taking place, including in Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone.”