Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Ankara may close two bases in Turkey where U.S. soldiers are stationed "if necessary", Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.
"If necessary, we will discuss with all our delegations, and if necessary, we may close Incirlik [air base in southern Adana province] and Kurecik [radar station in eastern Malatya province]," Erdogan said in an interview on TV channel AHaber.
"If they are threatening us with the implementation of these sanctions, of course we will be retaliating," he said.
Speaking about a resolution passed in the U.S. Senate on Armenian allegations over the events of 1915, Erdogan said the bill was "completely political", adding: "It is very important for both sides that the U.S. does not take irreparable steps in our relations."
"We regret that the polarization in U.S. domestic politics has had negative consequences for us and that some groups abuse developments about our country for their own interests in order to weaken [President Donald] Trump," Erdogan added.
He suggested that Turkey could also respond with parliamentary resolutions recognizing the killings of indigenous Americans in past centuries as genocide.