Support The Moscow Times!

Turkey's Erdogan Says No Going Back From S-400 Arms Deal with Russia

S-400 / vitalykuzmin.net

Turkey will not turn back from its deal to buy S-400 missile systems from Russia, President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Saturday, a day after an informal deadline Washington set for Ankara to respond to arival offer passed.

NATO member Turkey has repeatedly said it is committed to buying the Russian missile defense system, despite warnings from the U.S.-led alliance that the S-400s cannot be integrated into the NATO air defense system.

U.S. officials had set an informal deadline of Feb. 15 for Ankara to respond to the rival U.S. offer and have said that if Turkey proceeds with the S-400 purchase, Washington will withdraw its offer to sell a $3.5 billion Raytheon Co Patriot missile package.

They have also said it would jeopardize Turkey's purchase of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets and possibly result in the United States imposing sanctions.

However, speaking to reporters on the flight back from the Russian resort of Sochi, where a three-way summit on Syria between Turkey, Russia and Iran was held, Erdogan said Ankara would press on with the S-400 purchases.

"We made the S-400 deal with Russia, so it out of the question for us to turn back. That's done," Erdogan said, according to broadcaster NTV.

He said Turkey was open to purchasing Patriot systems from the United States as long as the deal served Turkey's interests, but added there were issues on delivery and production that were still being discussed with Washington.

"The U.S. administration views the early delivery issue positively, but they won't say anything about joint production or a credit. We continue our work based on the promise of the S-400 deliveries in July."

The formal U.S. offer for Turkey's purchase of Patriot systems expires at the end of March, U.S. officials have told Reuters, after which a new offer would have to be submitted.

The United States asked Turkey to give at least an informal answer on whether it would go ahead with its S-400 purchase by Feb. 15, one U.S. official said.

It was not immediately clear whether Turkey had responded to the U.S. offer.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more