ISTANBUL – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday Turkey would notwithdraw from a deal made with Russia to buy an S-400 missile defencesystem despite US threats of “devastating” consequences.
Ankara’s desire to buy the S-400 has been a major source of contentionbetween NATO allies Turkey and the United States, which has threatenedsanctions after months of warnings.
“We have made an agreement (with Russia). We are determined,” Erdogan wasquoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.
“There is nothing like backtracking from that,” he told journalists afterprayers at an Istanbul mosque.
Last week, a top Pentagon official said the consequences would be”devastating” for Turkey’s joint F-35 fighter programme and its cooperationwith NATO if the country went ahead with plans to buy the Russiananti-aircraft weapon system.
Kathryn Wheelbarger, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense forInternational Security Affairs, said the planned purchase would damageTurkey’s ability to work with the Western alliance, and force Washington tohit the country with sanctions against arms deals with Russia.
She said the US administration, even if it does not want to punish Turkeyfor the purchase, could be forced to do so by a Congress unsympathetic toAnkara.
– S-400s over US Patriots-
US officials said they expect Turkey to opt for the American Patriotmissiles instead, arguing that would then allow the F-35 programme tocontinue.
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Turkey plans to buy 100 US F-35s, and some Turkish pilots have alreadystarted training with counterparts in the US.
Erdogan said Tuesday he told the US that Ankara would take steps to buy thePatriots only if its conditions of delivery were as positive as Russia’s.
“But unfortunately we haven’t received a positive proposal from theAmerican side on the subject of Patriots like the S400s from Russia,” headded.
Turkey has defied mounting pressure from its NATO allies and said thepurchase from Moscow was a “done deal.”
Erdogan on Wednesday spoke with US President Donald Trump by phone and,according to the Turkish leader’s office, they discussed Ankara’s previousoffer to form a “joint working group” on the missile system.
The two leaders are due to meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit inOsaka, Japan, at the end of June. – APP/AFP
