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The Turkish President stated that Ankara is considering acquiring more Russian defense systems despite the opposition of the United States.
The Turkish leader said that despite the strong opposition from the NATO ally, the United States, his country is considering purchasing a second Russian missile system.
In an interview with ABC News, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Turkey will independently determine its defense system.
Erdogan told reporter Margaret Brennan in New York last week that Turkey did not have the option to purchase US-made Patriot missiles. Although the US received a payment of US$1.4 billion, the US still The F-35 stealth jet was not delivered.
Erdogan’s comments are excerpts released before the full interview aired on Sunday.
Erdogan’s provocation
NATO member Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 program after purchasing the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system, and its defense officials were also sanctioned.
The United States strongly opposes the use of the Russian system within NATO and stated that it poses a threat to the F-35. Turkey believes that S-400 can be used independently and does not need to be integrated into the NATO system, so it will not pose a risk.
Last year, the United States sanctioned Turkey’s purchases under the 2017 law aimed at countering Russian influence. This is the first time that a law called “Counter-U.S. Opponents Through Sanctions Act” (CAATSA) has been used to punish US allies.
However, Erdogan remained provocative.
“Of course, of course, yes,” he said after answering Brennan’s question about whether Turkey will buy more S-400s, Turkey will make its own defensive choices.
S-400 air defense missile system at Khmeimim Air Force Base outside Latakia, Syria [Russian Defence Ministry via EPA]Before leaving New York, Erdogan told reporters that although he had worked well with former US leaders during his 19 years at the helm in Turkey, his relationship with President Joe Biden had not started well.
“To be honest, I can’t say that Turkey-U.S. relations have a healthy process,” the state-run Anadolu News Agency quoted Erdogan as saying on Thursday.
Erdogan also told the Turkish media that if necessary, Turkey will purchase a new missile defense system and is already developing its own missile defense system.
This issue is one of several sticking points in Turkish-U.S. relations, including U.S. support for Syrian Kurdish fighters considered “terrorists” by Turkey, and the Muslim religious leader and businessman Fettura Gulen ( Fethullah Gulen) continues to live in the United States. Oppose the Erdogan government in 2016.
Erdogan is scheduled to meet Russian President Putin on September 29.
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