Vinayak Barot
New Delhi: The United States has once again asked Turkey to terminate its deal with Russia to buy S-400 missiles.
US Department of Defence spokesman John Kirby, in an interaction with the media, said on Friday: “We urge Turkey not to retain the S-400 system. The Russian system would be incompatible with the Joint Strike Fighter Program and could make the American systems vulnerable to Russian intelligence.”
“Turkey is a long-standing and valued NATO ally, but their decision to purchase the S-400 is inconsistent with Turkey’s commitments as a US and NATO ally,” he said.
Washington had imposed sanctions on Turkey over the purchase of the S-400 Triumf missiles from Moscow. The US said Turkey’s review of the deal will help restore its ties with NATO members, including America.
In the past, Turkey had alleged that Washington was not supplying the Patriot missile systems to Ankara.
Responding to these allegations, Kirby said that “Turkey had ‘multiple opportunities’ over the last decade for its acquisition and that the country’s order for S-400 would provide Moscow additional revenue, access, and greater influence in the region.”
Ankara is planning to purchase the second batch of S-400 missile systems.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken termed the purchase as ‘unacceptable’ and hinted about more strict restrictions and sanctions. “Tougher steps may be required in future to prevent the defence cooperation between Ankara and Moscow,” he said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan countered the US sanctions saying “Turkey does not need a validation certificate from Washington for its own security decisions.
“I don’t know what Biden will say but in any case, we won’t be asking for permission from anybody,” Erdogan said prior to Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
According to the US media, Russia could use the Turkish systems to gather intelligence about the advanced capabilities of the F-35s and NATO network.
However, Turkey had ensured that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems, and hence it won’t compromise the latter’s equipment.