Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Ankara will continue talks withMoscow for the procurement of the second batch of advanced Russian-madeS-400 air defense systems, and both sides would discuss details at the endof the current month.
Erdogan told reporters on Friday that Turkey is determined to proceed withthe S-400 deal despite US strong opposition.
“No country can determine the steps we will take towards our defenseindustry. This is entirely up to us. We had handled the first package forthe S-400 with Russia, and now [talks] for the second package continuebased on our previous negotiation,” the Turkish leader said.
“We don’t know what the incoming [John] Biden administration would say, butwe’re not in a position to ask for permission,” he added.
Erdogan noted that Turkey is a party to the North Atlantic TreatyOrganization (NATO), but would not accept any member of the US-led Westernmilitary alliance to “guide” it.
link
The Turkish president then criticized the United States for removing Ankarafrom the F-35 fighter jet program on July 15 last year, after the latterpurchased Russian S-400 missile defense system in a move that alsotriggered US sanctions.
Turkey paid “a massive amount of money’’ for the F-35 stealth jets, Erdogansaid, adding that “this is a very serious mistake that [the United Statesof] America has done to us.”
On December 14 last year, the United States imposed sanctions on Turkeyover its acquisition of advanced Russian S-400 missile defense systems,with Ankara condemning the move as a “grave mistake” that would inevitablyharm mutual relations and threatened retaliation.
The US sanctions were imposed on Turkey’s top defense procurement anddevelopment body Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), its chairmanIsmail Demir and three other Turkish defense officials, namely MustafaAlper Deniz, Serhat Gencoglu and Faruk Yigit.
Back in April 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russiancounterpart Vladimir Putin said in Ankara that they had agreed to expeditethe delivery of the S-400. At the time, it was said that the delivery couldbe made between late 2019 and early 2020.
A number of NATO member states have criticized Turkey, arguing that theS-400 missile batteries are not compatible with those of the militaryalliance.
On November 12, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar downplayed concernsover his country’s intention to utilize S-400 air defense systems,saying Ankara will use the armament just as other members of the NATOmilitary alliance employ their S-300 defense systems.
The S-400 is an advanced Russian missile defense system designed to detect,track, and destroy planes, drones, or missiles as far as 402 kilometersaway. It had previously been sold only to China and India.