A bill including sanctions on Turkey was approved in the United States Senate after it passed through the House of Representatives.
Sanctions include banning all US export licences to Turkey’s Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), as well as freezing the assets and banning US visas for its president, İsmail Demir, and other senior officials.
The bill went through the Senate against the wishes of President Donald Trump, who will pass his baton to Joe Biden on 20 January. With a cost of $740bn, the defence budget, which was vetoed by Trump, was approved by a majority of the Senate.
Despite the Senate’s Republican majority, the bill was approved by a majority of over two-thirds, overriding Trump’s veto.
The defence budget had been approved in the US House of Representatives, which is dominated by Democrats, on Monday.
Content of the sanctions
The bill includes a sanctions which are expected to be imposed on Turkey.
The bill demands that sanctions related to the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) be imposed on Turkey due to its S-400 defence system. Sanctions may be imposed on Turkey 30 days after the enactment of the NDAA bill. In addition, the bill enables the US Air Force to use six F-35 jets previously bought by Turkey.
In order to remove the sanctions, Turkey needs to confirm that no one runs the S-400 systems on behalf of the Russian government or any Russian company. Turkey must also commit to not involving itself in any act which might be related to CAATSA’s 231st section.
