Nov 26, 2019

The Donald Trump administration is wavering on its previously stated red line to implement legally mandated sanctions on Turkey after Ankara tested a Russian missile defense system.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had previously warned Turkey that activating the S-400 missile system and making it “operational” would result in US sanctions. But after Ankara activated the system’s powerful radar system for tests this week, Pompeo appeared to move the goalposts further back amid Trump’s reluctance to sanction the NATO ally.

“We are still talking to the Turks; we are still trying to figure out our way through this thing,” Pompeo told reporters at a press briefing Nov. 26. “I don’t want to get ahead of what the president may or may not do, but we have made clear to the Turkish government our desire to see them move away from putting into full operationalization the S-400 weapon system.”

The latest emphasis on “full operationalization” — instead of activation — could give Trump more wiggle room to avoid implementing sanctions required under a 2017 law barring other countries from making “significant transactions” with Russia’s defense sector. But it could also give Turkey license to continue testing the Russian-made radar system, which Washington fears could be used to spy on US military hardware.

The tests have also prompted lawmakers — including some of Trump’s closest Republican allies — to double down on their calls for the president to implement the sanctions.