Turkey has vowed to retaliate if the United States halts weapons sales to the country, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday.
Speaking on Sunday, Cavusoglu said that a proposal put forward in the US House of Representatives to temporarily halt weapons sales was not fitting of the alliance between NATO allies.
“If the United States imposes sanctions on us or takes such a step, Turkey will absolutely retaliate,” Cavusoglu told local broadcaster, CNN Turk. “What needs to be done is the US needs to let go of this.”
US representatives released details on Friday of a $717 billion annual defence policy bill, including efforts to compete with Russia and China and the measure on weapons sales to Turkey.
The House Armed Services Committee is due to debate next week the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes the level of defence spending and sets policies controlling how the funding is used.
The legislation would ask the Defense Department to provide Congress with a report on the relationship between the United States and Turkey and would block the sale of major defence equipment until the report was complete.