US Congress condemns Turkey's S-400 test

US Congressmen Robert Menendez and Jim Risch condemned Turkey's explicit challenge to the United States, by testing Ankara's Russian S-400 missile system at a site overlooking the Black Sea.

"The test by Turkey of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system is a stark reminder that Ankara is not deterred by simple pleas from the Trump administration," said US Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee member Robert Menendez.

He added in a statement: “Erdogan only responds to actions, not words,” describing President Donald Trump's rapprochement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a serious threat to US national security, and demanding Menendez that Turkey should be punished, and he said: “Turkey should be punished immediately for buying and the use of this system. "

In his turn, the head of the Congressional Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch, described the Turkish test as "unacceptable behavior" from a member country of NATO.

Risch said in a statement that the move harms the alliance and poses a direct threat to F-35 program and other systems of the United States and the alliance.

He explained that "US law stipulates imposing sanctions on countries that strengthen their defense relations with Russia, and the administration should send a strong message that Turkey should get rid of the S-400 program."

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said that the S-400 system should not be operational.

Turkey signed the S-400 deal with Russia in 2017 and began receiving its first 4 missile batteries worth $ 2.5 billion in July last year, amid US threats to impose sanctions on the first.

T/S

ANHA