US envoy stuns Turkish bosses: Sanctions are for certain

Duvar English

Renowned journalist Murat Yetkin has penned a piece on the meeting between U.S. Ambassador to Ankara David Satterfield and Turkey-U.S. Business Council (TAİK) Board of Directors that took place on Jan. 8. 

One of the most important subjects in the meeting, which was held with the purpose to convey the demands of the Turkish companies that do business with the U.S. to Washington via the Embassy before Joe Biden takes over the presidency, was the U.S. sanctions on Turkey that were imposed over Ankara's acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems, the journalist said in the piece published on news website Yetkin Report. 

"It was noteworthy that the U.S. Ambassador was accompanied by a strong team from the political and economic departments. The first statement about the content of the discussions came from TAİK late on Jan 11. TAİK sources felt the need to emphasize that the related press release was made in consensus with the U.S. Embassy. According to this press release, Satterfield said 'the sanctions are target-oriented and the majority of the market will remain open to trade,'" Yetkin said. 

"According to the sources of the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the ambassador went directly into the subject, without wasting time with diplomatic politeness, and said without trying to soften what he had to say," he added. 

Yetkin said that the problem is not economic, but political. 

"The problem is not economic, it is political. And political enough to be resolved only by the top of the administration. The business world does not even know exactly how ready Ankara is for the Biden administration," he said. 

"The Turkish business world must now understand the change that has accelerated with the COVID-19 pandemic, things are not like what they used to be," Yetkin added. 

Yetkin's piece in full can be reached here.