Turkey’s Cavusoglu: ‘US sanctions violate our sovereign rights’ 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that the US sanctions imposed on prominent figures in the Turkish defence industries violate his country’s sovereign rights.

This came in a press conference yesterday, after Cavusoglu’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in the Russian city of Sochi, as part of the Turkish official’s visit to attend the eighth meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group between the two countries.

The Turkish minister announced that Turkey will not retreat from efforts to strengthen its defence industries even with the imposition of US sanctions.

Regarding the developments in Libya, Cavusoglu said that “Haftar or any other state has no right to demand the departure of Turkey from Libyan lands and stop its support for the legitimate government.”

Earlier this month, the US imposed sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defence system.

The sanctions, coming under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), target Turkey’s Defence Industries Presidency (SSB), including Ismail Demir, the head of the SSB, and three other officials.

READ: Egypt to build ties with Libya govt to counter Turkey influence