Stars and Stripes:

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Turkey’s threats to close two critical NATO installations if it’s sanctioned for growing military ties to Russia raise questions about the country’s commitment to the Western alliance.

A day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of possible retaliation if the U.S. imposes penalties over Turkey’s purchase of a Russian missile system, the Pentagon chief suggested the country might have set itself on a collision course with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“This is something that the alliance would have to discuss, if the Turks are serious about this,” Esper told reporters on his plane Monday, according to the Defense Department’s website.

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