Ankara
Turkey’s foreign minister suggested Wednesday that the United States could be barred from using two strategic air bases in retaliation to possible US sanctions against his country, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Mevlut Cavusoglu comments came amid reports that US lawmakers had agreed on a defense bill that also includes calls to sanction Turkey over its decision to proceed with the purchase and deployment of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems. “In the event of a decision to sanction Turkey, the Incirlik and Kurecik air bases can be brought to the agenda,” Anadolu quoted Cavusoglu as saying. He said: “Congress members must understand that it is not possible to get anywhere with sanctions.”
Incirlik air base in southern Turkey has been a main base for US operations in the Middle East and more recently in the fight against the Daesh group in Syria and Iraq, while Kurecik, in eastern Turkey, is a key NATO base.
