President lifts sanctions on Turkey, citing foreign policy and national security.

US President Trump has announced that the United States will lift sanctions on Turkey that were imposed due to Ankara's purchase of Russian defense missiles in 2020. This decision has attracted international attention as it involves US foreign policy and national security objectives.

Turkey's purchase of Russian defense missiles was one of the triggers for the US sanctions. The US government believed that this action by Turkey violated US foreign policy and national security goals because it could potentially undermine US influence and security in the region. Consequently, the US government imposed sanctions on Turkey in 2020, restricting trade and financial transactions between Turkey and the United States. However, Trump has now decided to lift these sanctions, likely out of consideration for the strategic cooperative relationship between the US and Turkey, as well as regional security concerns.

The US sanctions mechanism is managed by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). These sanctions can be divided into comprehensive sanctions and targeted sanctions. Comprehensive sanctions are applied to certain countries or regions, restricting nearly all trade and financial transactions between US persons and those countries or regions. Targeted sanctions are aimed at specific individuals or entities, restricting their transactions with the United States. Additionally, the US implements "secondary sanctions," meaning that non-US persons who violate US sanctions laws by conducting transactions with sanctioned targets will also face US sanctions.

Critics of US sanctions programs argue that sanctions may cause humanitarian issues for the populations of targeted countries or regions, particularly when sanctions affect the supply of medical care, food, and other basic living necessities. Therefore, US sanctions policy has long been a focus of debate in the international community. Some argue that sanctions are an effective tool for the US to uphold its foreign policy and national security goals, while others contend that sanctions may create more problems than they solve.

Turkey is an important NATO member, and relations between the US and Turkey have always been complex. Although the two countries share common interests on certain regional security issues, significant differences remain in their positions on other matters, such as the Kurdish issue in Syria. Consequently, US sanctions policy toward Turkey has consistently been a sensitive topic in bilateral relations.

For Taiwan, this event has an indirect impact on its foreign policy and national security. Due to Taiwan's special status in the international community, it must carefully manage its relations with various countries, particularly the United States and China. US sanctions policy toward Turkey may exert a certain influence on Taiwan's foreign policy, especially when handling trade and security issues with China. Furthermore, US sanctions policy could also have an impact on the global trade and financial system, thereby affecting Taiwan's economic development. Therefore, Taiwan needs to closely monitor developments in the international community and prudently handle its own foreign policy and national security matters.