A senior US State Department official announced on Wednesday that the threat of Turkey being subjected to US sanctions has become "very real", after Ankara tested the Russian S-400 air defense missile system.

State Department arms sales official Clark Cooper said the Turks "continue to pursue the S-400 system".

 He added that "sanctions are an idea that has become largely on the table" after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last week that his country had tested the Russian air defense system on October 16, which Washington says is incompatible with Turkey's membership in NATO.

The US administration can impose economic sanctions on Ankara under a law passed by Congress in 2017 "to confront America's opponents through sanctions."

In particular, the law provides for automatic sanctions when a country enters into an "important deal" with the Russian armament sector.

Cooper pointed out that Washington has informed its strategic ally Ankara since last year that the red line for the United States will be the operation of the "S-400" system that Ankara bought from Moscow in 2017.

"We have made it clear to Ankara that the S-400 missile test is totally unacceptable," he said, noting that the US administration is still making efforts "to convince Turkey not to operate the S-400 missiles."

Avoiding estrangement


The American diplomat stressed that his country nonetheless seeks to avoid a boycott with Turkey. He said, "We are definitely doing our best to keep Turkey in the Western camp," considering that "excluding Turkey will not be in the interest of anyone except Russia."

Last Sunday, Erdogan responded strongly to US threats to impose sanctions on his country if the Russian missile system was activated.

The Turkish president said that his country will not ask permission from anyone to test any weapons it possesses, and stressed that Ankara does not pay any attention to Washington's objections in this field.

He was surprised that the United States did not object to Greece's purchase of Russian defense systems, although, like Turkey, it is also a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The United States had suspended Turkey's participation in the program to manufacture modern American "F-35" warplanes (F-35) in response to Turkey's purchase of the "S-400" system.

Washington believes that the "S-400" system could cause the disclosure of technological secrets of this advanced fighter.