New Delhi: The United States (US) sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of Russian missile defence systems were a “hostile attack” on its sovereign rights and defence industry, The President of Turkey – Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday late night.
Turkey is a member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the US has imposed sanctions on Turkey’s Defence Industry Directorate (SSB), its chief Ismail Demir and three other employees on Monday over the purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems.
Erdogan criticized Washington for punishing a NATO ally and said “problems stemming from the sanctions would be overcome and vowed to ramp up efforts towards an independent defence industry.”
In a media briefing Erdogan said that “What kind of alliance is this? What kind of partnership is this? This decision is an open hostile attack on our country’s sovereign rights. The real goal is to block the advances our country started in the defence industry recently and to once again render us absolutely dependent on them. Surely there will be problems, but each problem will push open a door for us for a solution.”
On the purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence system – Turkey says that “Purchase of the S-400s was not a choice but rather a necessity as it was unable to procure air defence systems from any NATO ally on satisfactory terms.”
The S-400 missile defence system poses a threat to F-35 fighter jets and to NATO’s broader defence systems, Washington says.
Turkey rejects this and says “S-400s will not be integrated into NATO, but the US concerns had no technical basis”, Erdogan said.
Ankara still produced close to 1000 parts for the F-35 jets, despite being removed from the programme over the S-400 purchase. Turkey had also been due to buy more than 100 F-35 jets, Erdogan added.
Communications Director of Erdogan – Fahrettin Altun said that “the sanctions would be a burden for Biden but that Ankara believed Washington would reverse this grave mistake without delay and the sanctions made Washington look like an unreliable ally within NATO”
“This crisis will go down in history…books as a failure of US diplomacy. For the United States, which we see as an important ally, to experience such an eclipse of the mind, despite our efforts to protect our mutual interests on the basis of equality, is a loss for them,” Altun told the media.
Last week Erdogan said that he would discuss strained ties with Washington once Biden enters the White House.
Ending his remarks, Erdogan unveiled footage of Turkey’s new domestic missile defence system, HISAR-A+, which he said had been delayed due to an embargo on a part Turkey was importing. Erdogan did not reveal that from which country Turkey imported the parts.
_Vinayak Barot