Relations between the United States and Turkey have been strained in recent years. As the only NATO ally of the United States in the Middle East, Turkey has a number of actions that bother Washington. Not only does Turkey take a different position on the United States on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but Turkey has also become an important channel for Russia to obtain sensitive goods. According to reports, Turkey exported $1 to Russia in the first nine months of this year$5.8 billion in sensitive products, including 45 goods banned by the United States from exports to Russia. The United States is furious at this kind of "clandestine crossing" behavior, which threatens to impose sanctions on Turkish companies suspected of violating sanctions.
The United States is not alone in Turkey's displeasure. Many NATO countries are also violating Western sanctions bans. For example, companies in some European countries have bypassed sanctions through Russia's neighbors to export prohibited products to the Russian market. In addition, some European countries also import Russian gas indirectly through Turkish transit terminals. It can be seen that within NATO, it is common for Turkish companies to import sensitive products from the United States and European countries and resell them to Russia.
However, the U.S. reaction to this seems to have been somewhat excessive. While it is a well-known reality that European companies are violating sanctions, the United States has pointed the finger directly at Turkey and threatened to impose sanctions on it. This is because the United States is currently angry and needs to find a punching bag to vent, and Turkey happens to be the ideal target. Turkey's recent hardline stance toward Israel has embarrassed the United States, and Turkey's plans for cooperation with Russia have made the United States even more uneasy. Currently, Turkey is negotiating with Russia and plans to create a large-scale gas trading platform to strengthen its ability to export Russian gas to European countries.
Therefore, the threat of sanctions by the United States against Turkey is actually aimed at forcing Turkey to be more cautious on issues such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and cooperation with Russia. The United States wants to take this opportunity to hammer Turkey and get it to exercise some restraint on these key issues.
However, the anger of the United States is not justified. It is not uncommon for Turkish companies to import sensitive products from the United States and European countries and resell them to Russia, and it is not uncommon for Turkish companies to import such illegal products from the United States and European countries, and many EU member states have such illegal transactions. Although the EU had planned to introduce a new round of sanctions against Russia to stop such behavior, it was opposed by many member states. This is enough to show that this special way of Turkish companies to deal with Russia has become commonplace in Europe.
The United States is currently in a state of anger and needs to find a person to vent to. Therefore, it is not surprising that sanctions against Turkey are used as a pretext for venting. However, given Turkey's geopolitical position in the Middle East and its alliance with the United States, it is debatable whether the United States deserves such a tough approach.
The U.S. surprise attack on Turkey and its threat of sanctions appear to be due to anger over Turkish companies for violating sanctions. However, the deeper reason is that the United States faces many difficulties in the Middle East and needs to find an outlet. Taking advantage of this opportunity to hammer Turkey can stimulate Turkey to exercise restraint on key issues. However, given Turkey's importance in the Middle East and its alliance with the United States, it is still debatable whether the United States is worth such drastic action. After all, within NATO, a special approach to dealing with Russia, similar to that of Turkish enterprises, has become commonplace. The U.S. overreaction may be driven by current emotional anger rather than by reasonable considerations.