Before Nato’s ministerial meeting on Tuesday, the US ambassador to the alliance, Kay Bailey Hutchison, singled out fellow member Turkey for its “problematic behaviour” and operating "out of bounds" in its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile system.
"The idea that you can put a Russian-made missile defence system in the middle of our alliance is out of bounds. We have registered that with Turkey time and again," Ms Hutchison told The National on Monday. Turkey acquired and deployed the Russian S-400 system in July 2019 and has been testing it ever since in defiance of Nato objections and US sanctions.
While she called Turkey a Nato long-time ally, Ms Hutchison described the country’s behaviour in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the acquisition of the S-400 as problematic to the alliance. “Some of the behaviour that has been mentioned is problematic to the unity of the alliance and the alliance is strong because we are unified. We are concerned most especially about the S-400,” she said.
Turkey has not activated the system yet and the US ambassador is urging Ankara to think twice before doing so, or suffer the consequences.
“We hope before Turkey turns on that missile defence system that they will understand the consequences and how much it will hurt their alliance inter-operability with the rest of us.”
Ms Hutchison emphasised that it is not too late for Turkey to reverse the transaction with Russia.
“We hope that Turkey turns back the decision that they made in error to put a Russian missile defence system in Ankara. Many of us are trying to work with Turkey in a way that would cement our alliance unity and we are asking Turkey once again to be the great ally that they have been in the past,” she said.
But Aaron Stein, a Turkey expert and the director of research at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said it was unlikely that Ankara would reverse its actions in regard to the S-400.
"They took ownership of the S-400, sent personnel to Russia for training and then tested the system in Turkey. They can choose to keep it in storage, but that doesn't mean that Caatsa still doesn't apply. That is the conundrum," Mr Stein told The National.
Caatsa is the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, passed overwhelmingly by Congress in 2017 to sanction any significant transactions with Russia. In the case of Turkey, outgoing US President Donald Trump has delayed the imposition of Caatsa sanctions on Turkey, but with pressure growing from Congress, president-elect Joe Biden may have little choice.
“The Biden administration is inheriting a mess, largely of Turkey and Mr Trump’s own making. The relationship is dysfunctional, but on the S-400 issue, there is a US law that Trump ignored and that Turkey has benefited from ... and issues deferred under Trump will have to be dealt with,” Mr Stein said.
The US president-elect has not spoken to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yet.
“The Biden administration is going to have to make the case for Turkey with a very angry Congress,” Mr Stein said. “Ankara would have to be willing to compromise, but thus far, we have seen no evidence that they are willing to do much.”
Part of S-400 arrive in Turkey in 2019
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
HWJN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Yasir%20Alyasiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Baraa%20Alem%2C%20Nour%20Alkhadra%2C%20Alanoud%20Saud%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1.
|
United States
|
2.
|
China
|
3.
|
UAE
|
4.
|
Japan
|
5
|
Norway
|
6.
|
Canada
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
8.
|
Australia
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
More on animal trafficking
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5