Turkey condemns “nonbinding” US Congress resolution

ANKARA

Turkey on June 11 slammed a resolution approved by the U.S. Congress on the nature of allied ties between Turkey and the United States.

“The bill passed through the U.S. House of Representatives on June 10 does not comply with the rooted amity and alliance relations of Turkey and the U.S. It is not possible to accept the unfair and groundless claims of the bill about Turkey’s foreign policy and judicial system,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.

It is an “unacceptable” decision, the ministry’s statement stressed, adding that using such a “menacing tone” is inadmissible.

“As we emphasize every time, the best way to allay the different point of views between allies goes through dialogue and respect for the countries’ sovereign decisions,” the statement underlined.

The U.S. resolution is “nonbinding,” according to the Ministry.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on June 10 with the purpose of “expressing concern for the U.S.-Turkey alliance.”

The bill underlined the importance of the allegiance between the United States and Turkey, given Turkey’s NATO alliance, and condemned the latter for its decision to buy Russian S-400 air and missile defense systems.

The U.S. government has offered Turkey a “strong, capable and NATO-interoperable” defense system in accord with Turkey’s requirements, the bill wrote.

It also condemned Turkey’s decision to purchase S-400 missiles, saying this “endangers the integrity of U.S.-Turkey alliance and undermines NATO.”

If Turkey does not halt the S-400 purchase, the United States will terminate Turkey’s participation in the F-35 industrial program and will implement sanctions through Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the bill’s resolution stressed.

Tensions between the United States and Turkey have reached a fever pitch in recent months with Ankara set to begin receiving the advanced Russian surface-to-air missile system in July.

U.S. officials advised Turkey to buy the U.S. Patriot missile system rather than the S-400 system, arguing that the Russian-made system would be incompatible with NATO systems and expose the F-35 to possible Russian subterfuge.

But Turkey has emphasized that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO operability and would not pose a threat to the alliance.

Ankara said that it was Washington’s initial refusal to sell the Patriot missile system that led it to seek other offers, adding that Russia offered a better deal that included technology transfers.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on June 4 that the United States had yet to give Turkey an “offer as good as the S-400s.”