As Turkey has become the latest target for US trade barriers, facing US sanctions against top ministers, forcing Ankara to reconsider its purchasing of advanced US weapons.
The Anatolian country’s leaders have indicated they are beginning to look elsewhere, feeling like the US is trying “to make Turkey surrender in all areas, from finance to politics.
The local media reported that crowds of people came together, kissing Turkish lira banknotes and ripping US dollars apart.
Last month, the US temporary halted transfers of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, taking a month and a half to assess how canceling the delivery of the planes would impact relations with Ankara, its plans to purchase S-400 air defense systems and the US industrial base in the event that Ankara withdraws from the international F-35 program.
Ankara has blasted US efforts to disrupt the delivery of F-35s, reminding Washington that Turkey has already paid Lockheed Martin for part of its order for 100 F-35’s.
Turkish officials told the USA that any country has a right to self-defense and explained that it would buy NATO air defense systems if Ankara were to receive an appropriate offer. The White House has objected to Turkey’s plan to acquire the Russian-made S-400 air defense system.
Relations between Washington and Ankara have been strained in recent years over Turkey’s refusal to release American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was arrested in 2016 after a failed coup and accused of terrorism and espionage.
In late July, he was released from prison and placed under house arrest, while facing the same terrorism charges.
The move damaged the Turkish currency even more, with the lira having lost nearly half its value since the year began and some economists predicting that only a loan from the International Monetary Fund can save the country’s economy now.
Sputnik / ABC Flash Point Political News 2018.
