Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu meets with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov
Moscow … News Time
Russia and Turkey have stated opposition to using force or imposing sanctions on Iran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a statement that despite US sanctions on Turkey, military cooperation between Moscow and Ankara would not be affected. Speaking to reporters after meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Moscow, Sergey Lavrov said that military ties with Turkey would be strengthened despite illegal US pressure. The United States has imposed economic sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of the S400 missile defense system from Russia this month.
Washington has said that a missile defense system purchased from Russia could be harmful to US F-35 fighter jets, and that Moscow would gain access to US technology through this system. Analysts say sanctions imposed by Washington are pushing NATO members closer to Russia and away from the alliance. The Turkish Foreign Minister said that the world is well aware that sanctions cannot force Turkey to retreat. He addressed a joint press conference after meeting his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the 8th Summit of the Turkey-Russia Combined Strategic Planning Group. “Sanctions are an attack on our sovereignty,” Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said. In his speech, he also spoke about Turkey’s cooperation with Libya. He said no country or Libyan rebel general, Khalifa Haftar, had the right to ask Turkey to distance itself from the issue. Talking about the corona virus, he said that under the agreement reached with Russia in the fight against the epidemic, a joint vaccine would be developed in Turkey.
