Ankara said Tuesday that it had informed Washington of its response to the sanctions that targeted Turkey's defense industry development authority.

While the domestic political scene showed rare unity against sanctions, NATO adopted a stance in favor of Turkey.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed in a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo Tuesday Washington’s decision to impose sanctions on Turkey, due to its purchase of a Russian air defense system.

 "Cavusoglu conveyed our response to the US decision," the ministry said.

On Monday, Washington imposed sanctions on Ankara targeting the largest Turkish defense industries development body, its president, Ismail Demir, and 3 employees.

 The US Treasury said the sanctions were imposed under the Catsa Act, America's Adversaries Act.

After the announcement of the US sanctions, the Turkish lira increased by about 1%.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the sanctions against the Turkish Defense Industries Authority came because of its purchase of the "S-400" anti-missile system.

Pompeo added that the sanctions include a ban on all US export licenses, an asset freeze, and visa restrictions for the authority’s chairman, Ismail Demir and other officials.

Undermining confidence


, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar considered that the US sanctions on his country shake all the values ​​of the alliance between Ankara and Washington.

Akar considered that the sanctions against a member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would not only harm the spirit of the alliance, but would also undermine confidence among the allies.

He added that the Turkish government will take all measures to protect the security of its citizens and their country, which is under dangerous air and missile threats, as he put it.


A

united front

For its part, the Turkish parliament showed a rare unity of its kind on Tuesday in its condemnation of the US sanctions.

He said the country would not hesitate to protect itself in the face of threats.

In a joint statement, 4 of the five major parties in Parliament stressed that relations with the United States must be based on mutual respect, and that the sanctions imposed due to the country's purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system "are not in line with the spirit of the alliance."

The statement continued, "We call on the United States to reverse this grave mistake immediately."

He added that Turkey "will not back down in the face of sanctions or threats."

The statement was signed by the ruling Justice and Development Party, the Nationalist Movement, El-Khair, and the Republican People.

The Khair and Al Shaab parties are known to be rivals of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party.

The statement was not signed by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the second largest opposition party represented in Parliament.

In turn, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed his regret over the United States' imposition of sanctions on Turkey, saying that the dispute must be settled in a satisfactory manner.

And he considered that Turkey's purchase of the S-400 missile system from Russia is a sovereign decision.