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Turkey came under criticism at a virtual meeting of NATO foreign ministers and, abandoned by the US, must prepare to withstand a wave of US and European sanctions, several attendees told AFP on Wednesday. The surprise came from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who denounced the “violations” of the Alliance rules and the “implementation policy” practiced by Ankara in various regional crises, Agerpres informs.
In his latest NATO meeting, Pompeo called on Turkey to “go back to allied behavior,” one participant said. “His speech was very brief, but very clear,” said another.
The US secretary of state denounced Ankara’s “gift” to Russia with the purchase of the S400 mobile missile defense system, which “is not interoperable with NATO systems”. He also lamented the “hostage-taking” of NATO defense plans and partnerships, an attitude that “weakens the cohesion of the Alliance”.
Turkey’s actions were denounced at the 2019 London Summit by French President Emmanuel Macron, but President Donald Trump protected and defended President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The US secretary of state said Turkey’s actions were “very aggressive” during his meeting with the French president on November 16 in Paris.
But a statement on the intervention released Wednesday by his services made no mention of his criticisms of Ankara. Contacted by AFP, an American spokesperson refused to deny or confirm statements during the closed-door meeting.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu “was visibly not at ease”, confessed one of the participants.
The seriousness of Mike Pompeo’s intervention in the videoconference also “uninhibited” the other participants, and for the first time Ankara was regularly accused, notes France Presse.
“Turkey is finally perceived as a problem for the Alliance, which has so far been denied, and will need to be resolved,” an Alliance official said.
Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, expressed “regret for the direct involvement of an allied state, such as Turkey, in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, facilitating the involvement of Syrian mercenaries”.
“We have insisted on our positions on Nagorno-Karabakh, the Eastern Mediterranean, Libya and the illegal intervention against our ship,” the Turkish minister posted on his Twitter account.
A German navy frigate of the European mission Irini stopped a Turkish ship suspected of violating the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations on Libya on 20 November.
Several delegations said that the time has come to sanction Turkey’s actions.
The United States approved economic measures against Ankara after the acquisition of the Russian defense system. Blocked by Donald Trump, they would automatically go into effect with the arrival of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Canada has suspended exports of electronic components used by the Turkish TB2 combat drone, which was used to support forces in Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Europeans must decide at the December 10 summit whether new measures are needed to tax Ankara’s behavior in the Eastern Mediterranean and violations of the UN arms embargo against Libya.
The European Commission has prepared a number of options, including in particular sectoral economic sanctions, ready to be used.
However, unanimity is required for sanctions, and Germany has so far blocked them, hoping to reach an agreement on “developing a truly constructive relationship with Turkey”.
“There will be decisions at the summit, but their scope has not yet been decided,” several European officials told AFP. “We will have to see what positions Germany and Poland will take,” explained a minister.
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