The United States imposed sanctions against Turkey because of the military operation "Source of Peace" in Syria. The corresponding decree was issued by US President Donald Trump.
“I, Donald D. Trump, President of the United States of America, believe that the situation inside and around Syria - in particular, the recent actions of the Turkish government to launch a military offensive in northeastern Syria - are to the detriment of the campaign aimed at defeating the Islamic State Of Iraq and Syria ”*, or ISIS, are dangerous for the civilian population, and are also fraught with further undermining of peace, security and stability in the region, and therefore pose an unusual and extreme threat from the point of view of national security and foreign policy and the United States, "- said in a statement.
Sanctions were imposed against the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Defense of Turkey, as well as against the heads of these departments Fatih Donmez and Hulusi Akar. Personal sanctions also apply to Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soilu.
Thus, all the property and funds of these two departments and three ministers in the United States are frozen, and American citizens and companies are prohibited from entering into transactions with them. The sanctions list could grow - the appropriate decision is made by the head of the United States Treasury in consultation with the Secretary of State.
According to US Vice President Mike Pence, Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on the phone.
“President Trump made it clear that the United States wants Turkey to stop the invasion, immediately cease fire and begin negotiations with Kurdish units in Syria to put an end to the violence,” Pence said.
- © Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
The US-Turkey relationship is characterized by lengthy non-public negotiations, political analyst Alexander Asafov said.
"Apparently, political negotiations, bargaining, did not lead to anything, and Trump decided that it would be more profitable for him to declare victory over the caliphate, withdraw American soldiers from Syria and impose sanctions against Turkey, further strengthening the severance of relations," the expert said conversation with RT.
At the same time, the current sanctions are rather conditional, said Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies.
“Trump did not intend to impose sanctions, did not want to impose sanctions, and the sanctions that he imposed are more likely conditional - Turkey does not lose anything from them. Actually, under pressure from the Democrats, he was forced to impose sanctions, some kind of answer was needed, he told RT. “This is a reaction that can be called imitation.”
Bruter is also convinced that the introduction of anti-Turkish sanctions will not affect the course of the military operation.
Operation Source of Peace
Recall that Turkey launched the military operation "Source of Peace" in northeast Syria on October 9. Ankara said they intend to fight against the Kurdistan Workers Party (YPG) and the People’s Self-Defense Forces, which Turkey considers to be terrorist organizations.
Erdogan called the Adan Agreement concluded between Turkey and Syria in 1998 the legal basis for this operation. According to him, if the Arab Republic does not take enough action to combat illegal Kurdish formations, Ankara can send in its troops and fight the YPG.
Before the operation began, Turkey notified the UN Security Council countries and the Syrian government about its beginning. Erdogan also had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who called on the Turkish leader to carefully weigh the situation. At the same time, during the conversation, both presidents agreed that the territorial integrity of Syria and its sovereignty must be respected.
Also, the United States withdrew its troops from this region. According to Erdogan, this gesture meant supporting Turkey’s actions in Syria.
After several days of hostilities, Turkey moved deeper into Syria and took control of a number of cities and infrastructure. On October 13, it became known that the Kurds and Damascus entered into an agreement according to which the Syrian government army will enter this region. According to media reports, under the agreement, the troops will assist in the fight against the Turks and regain control of the cities and the border with Turkey.
According to the latest reports of the Turkish Ministry of Defense, 595 "terrorists" were destroyed during the operation.
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“There should be no collisions”
In Russia, they expect that there will be no clashes between Syria and Turkey. This was stated by the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Middle East and African countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.
“Of course, we hope that there should not be any clashes, on the contrary, contacts are being made in order to develop some approaches in accordance with the norms and principles of international law and taking into account the legitimate interests of the parties,” he said.
Trump in his Twitter supported the decision of the Syrian government to provide military support to the Kurds, against which Turkey is conducting a military operation. According to him, the United States should not fight in this country.
“Having achieved a 100% defeat of the ISIS caliphate, I withdrew most of the troops from Syria. Let the Kurds defend Syria and (President Bashar. - RT ) Assad and let them fight with Turkey for their territory. I asked my generals the question: “Why should we fight for Syria and Assad, defending the enemy’s territory?” None of those who want to help Syria protect the Kurds will raise my objections - be it Russia, China, or even Napoleon Bonaparte. I hope everyone will be fine, we are 7,000 miles away, ”he wrote on Twitter.
Note that in an interview with RT Arabic, Al Arabiya and Sky News Arabia, Vladimir Putin emphasized that the Syrian territory should be freed from foreign military presence and Russia will withdraw its forces as soon as the authorities of the Arab Republic turn to Moscow.
“Everyone who is in the territory of any state, in this case the Syrian Arab Republic, is illegitimate, must leave this territory. This applies to all states, ”he said. “The territory of Syria must be freed from a foreign military presence, and the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic must be fully restored.”
According to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Operation Source of Peace will only be completed when the terrorists are ousted.
“No one can accuse us of trying to change the demographic situation in the region. Kurds in Syria are most tormented by YPG / PKK. As a result, the territorial integrity of Syria will be ensured. We will continue the operation until the terrorists are completely ousted, ”he said.
- © ANA / Handout via REUTERS S
“A serious humanitarian threat”
On Monday, October 14, the Foreign Minister of the European Union also spoke out against the military operation "Source of Peace".
“The Council again urges Turkey to end unilateral military operations in northeast Syria and withdraw its troops,” the statement said.
According to the position of the countries of the European Union, this operation undermines the "progress achieved so far by the global coalition to combat" ISIS.
Iran also urged Turkey to withdraw its troops. The Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic noted that the "Source of Peace" threatens the humanitarian situation in Syria and creates risks for civilians.
"Given the serious humanitarian threat and risks for civilians in the region, the Iranian Foreign Ministry is insisting on an immediate cessation of attacks and the withdrawal of the Turkish Armed Forces from Syria," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
At the same time, it is not worth waiting for sanctions against Turkey from the European Union, Bruter believes.
“Erdogan already noted that as soon as Europeans impose sanctions, Ankara immediately opens the border (for Syrian refugees. - RT ). The fact is that Turkey is doing much more for Europe than Europe for Turkey, ”the analyst concluded.