U.S. says if Turkey's firing of missiles confirmed, it would strongly condemn Turkey

Turkey fired a missile from its Black Sea coast on
Friday in an area where the military was expected to test the Russian S-400
missile system, Reuters reported, citing a video it obtained.
The footage showed a narrow column of smoke rising
high into the air above the coastal city of Sinop, Reuters said.
Turkey has issued notices to restrict air and sea
traffic to allow for the tests. The notification were due to expire on Friday.
Turkey's defence ministry refused to confirm or deny
the missile tests.
State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, in a
statement to Ahval, said that the U.S. is aware of the reports and the United
States has expressed to the Government of Turkey, at the most senior levels,
that "the acquisition of Russian military systems such as the S-400 is
unacceptable."
The United States has warned Turkey against
activating the S-400 system for several years, which it took delivery of from
Moscow last year despite the threat of sanctions.
Ortagus, in the same statement, said that "the US
has been clear on our expectation that
the S-400 system should not be operationalized.
We have also been clear on the potential serious consequences for our security
relationship if Turkey activates the system."
The Trump administration has thus far proven
hesitant to impose penalties on Turkey over the issue.
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman also
released a statement responding Ahval's inquiry, on the same subject, using
almost exactly the same language as the State Department, but added that the
S-400s "should not be activated." Hoffman reminded that Turkey has
already been suspended from the F-35 program and the S-400 continues to be a
barrier to progress elsewhere in the bilateral relationship.” Pentagon said,
"an operational S-400 system is not consistent with Turkey’s commitments
as a U.S. and NATO Ally."
State Department's Ortagus, in the same statement,
said, "If confirmed, we would condemn in the strongest terms the S-400
test missile launch as incompatible with Turkey’s responsibilities as a NATO Ally
and strategic partner of the United States."
If it is confirmed, firing the missiles would likely
breach the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA),
which targets those who do business with Russia’s defence sector.
On Saturday, U.S. lawmakers wrote to Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo urging him to impose sanctions on Turkey following reports of
the S-400 radars being used on Greek F-16 fighter jets.
The U.S. has repeatedly expressed concern that
Turkey’s use of the Russian made system could jeopardise NATO’s operational
security and reveal intel on its next-generation F-35 fighter jet programme.
Turkey and the U.S. are at loggerheads over several
other regional issues including tensions with Greece in the eastern
Mediterranean, and Turkish involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Investors are concerned that an increased
probability of sanctions will lead to more losses for the fragile Turkish lira
and further destabilise the country’s economy. The lira traded down 0.3 percent
at 7.528 per dollar on Friday, just off an all-time low reached last week of
7.9591 per dollar.