The United States has applied its Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) legislation against countries buying advanced Russian-made weapons, sanctioning China in 2018, and Turkey in 2020. Washington has also threatened India with restrictions, and warned Germany could be sanctioned for its participation in Nord Stream 2.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has threatened Turkey and other allies against any more purchases of Russian weapons, warning that countries could be subject to new sanctions if they fail to obey.
“It's also very important going forward that Turkey, and for that matter all US allies and partners, avoid future purchases of Russian weaponry, including additional S-400s – which again, bring Russia revenue, access, and influence,” Blinken said, speaking at a virtual ‘World Press Freedom Day Roundtable' in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
Blinken added that Washington had been “very clear, very direct, and very consistent in urging Turkey to abandon the S-400 system,” and said that the Turkish military's operation of the system “runs directly counter to commitments all allies made at the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw to reduce, not increase, dependencies on Russian equipment.”
CAATSA in the Cradle
Turkey's decision to purchase S-400s from Russia in late 2017, and its continued refusal to fold to US pressure to abandon the weapons, prompted Washington to…
