AKP spokesman: Trump admin needs to take measures against Congress' moves

Duvar English

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson has said that the Donald Trump administration needs to take measures against the U.S. Congress' moves that target Turkey or otherwise the ties between the two countries will worsen.

Commenting on Trump's recent approval of a $738 billion defense bill which calls for sanctions against Turkey, Ömer Çelik said: “There is an approach which is out of common sense here. In the face of these steps that are stemming from the Congress, the American government needs to take measures so that our ties do not worsen further. Our alliance relationship which is very strong is gradually becoming more fragile.”

Çelikmade the comments on Dec. 23 duringa press conference following the AKP's central executive committee inthe capital Ankara.

Çelik called on the U.S. to “produce more rational policies” in terms of its relationship with Turkey and said that Ankara will retaliate against potential sanctions based on the “rule of reciprocity.”

Çelik's comments came after the U.S. Senate on Dec. 17 passed a defense bill, which includes provisions calling for sanctions against Turkey, and sent it to President Trump's desk for signature. On Dec. 20, Trump signed the bill into law.

Thebill includes a ban on transferring Lockheed Martin F-35 stealthfighter jets or components to Turkey over its purchase of the RussianS-400 missile system.

Italso calls on Trump to implement sanctions on Turkey under theCountering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, whichincludes 12 measures targeting the Turkish economy and defensesector.

Priorto Trump’s signing of the bill into law, Turkish Foreign Ministryspokesman Hami Aksoy issued a statement condemning the use of“negative language that targets Turkey” in the bill. “Thisis the latest outcome of the agenda pursued by members of Congresswho are bent on damaging our bilateral relations by any means,”said Aksoy on Dec. 20.

Inanother move that angered Turkey, the U.S. Senate on Dec. 12unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes as a genocide themass killings of Armenians a century ago.

TheTrump administration later issued a statement saying that it does notconsider the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 to be a genocide,rejecting votes in the U.S. Congress.