Turkey's purchase of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs) from Russia made sense, despite tensions that arose in the relationship between Ankara and Washington, the republic's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stated in an interview with The New York Times published on its website on Wednesday.
"We buy weapons for ourselves," he pointed out, answering questions last week from the publication's reporters on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly. Erdogan noted that both NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg and former US administration head Donald Trump have confirmed Turkey's right to do so. He also stressed that if Washington had agreed to sell Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ankara, the Turkish leadership "would not have had to buy S-400."
Asked whether Turkey's actions made sense, given the ensuing tensions with the United States, Erdogan replied in the affirmative. "I think it was worth it," he said. - "We are strengthening our defense as we see fit."
The Turkish leader acknowledged, however, that relations with Washington remain fundamentally important to Ankara. "Turkey has a long-standing relationship with the United States," the newspaper quoted him as saying. - "It will get stronger, and it needs to be protected".
Moscow signed a contract to supply Ankara with S-400 SAMs in 2017. Turkey was the first NATO country to buy the systems from Russia. Ankara's decision provoked a sharply negative reaction from Washington and the alliance as a whole. The United States has not stopped trying to get Turkey to give up the Russian SAMs. Due to the fact that Ankara does not give in to pressure and does not get rid of S-400, Washington has previously excluded it from its program for the production of the fifth generation fighter-bomber F-35. In addition, the US has long threatened Turkey for the purchase of S-400 to introduce a number of unilateral sanctions, but was in no hurry to do so, as they feared further aggravation of relations with a key NATO ally, and Ankara warned that it would not leave the application of such restrictions without response. In December 2020, Washington did impose restrictive measures.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS