Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell, who answered the questions in the Foreign Relations Commission of the US House of Representatives, commented on the Turkiye's purchase S-400 missiles from Russia and the case of pastor Andrew Brunson, who is on trial in Turkiye's Izmir.
"We are watching to see if the Turks adhere to their stated standards of justice. If that does not happen, we are considering options for consequences," Mitchell said.
"Our contacts with the Brunson's family and with the Turkish government continue," said Mitchell. "The Turks claim to have a high standard of justice, the indictment suggests otherwise,” Mitchell told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "This is clearly an innocent man. We are watching to see if the Turks adhere to their stated standards of justice. If that does not happen, we are considering options for consequences. We're in close coordination, in touch with the Senate and House, in talking through some of those possible measures, but I want to underscore that we take it very seriously," he added.
In the testimony to the Foreign Relations Committee to the House of Representatives, Mitchell said, "Turkiye lately has increased its engagement with Russia and Iran. Arrangements to which America was not privy – is gravely concerning."
Speaking about Turkiye's purchase Russia's S-400 missile defense system agreement, Mitchell said: "Ankara claims to have agreed to purchase the Russian S-400 missile system, which could potentially lead to sanctions under section 231 of CAATSA and adversely impact Turkiye’s participation in the F-35 program. It is in the American national interest to see Turkiye remain strategically and politically aligned with the West. In the context of Syria, we have engaged in high-level interagency discussions, both to address legitimate Turkish security concerns and to avoid inadvertent collisions between our forces."
ILKHA