Turkey may force Americans out of Incirlik base over S-400 sanctions

The US authorities, at part of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), imposed sanctions on the Turkish Defense Industry Administration, its chief Ismail Demir and three other citizens of the Turkish republic - Faruk Yigit, Mustafa Alper Deniz and Serhat Genchoglu. Yigit serves as deputy chairman of the department, while the other two officials chair specialized departments related to air defense.Earlier, Reuters reported that Washington was going to blacklist Demir and the department that he chairs in connection with Turkey's decision to purchase S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia. The above-mentioned sanctions have been imposed on five counts stipulated by the CAATSA. "The United States made clear to Turkey at the highest levels and on numerous occasions that its purchase of the S-400 system would endanger the security of US military technology and personnel and provide substantial funds to Russia's defence sector, as well as Russian access to the Turkish armed forces and defence industry," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. "Today's action sends a clear signal that the United States will fully implement CAATSA Section 231 and will not tolerate significant transactions with Russia's defense and intelligence sectors," Pompeo also said. In addition to visa restrictions and blocked assets of the above-mentioned turkish officials, the USA has restricted the issuance of US export licenses and permits for the transfer of any goods and technologies to the Turkish defense industry.