The new US administration will push for Turkey to stop using Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs). The new US administration will raise the issue with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as well, Douglas Jones, the US Charge d'Affaires at NATO Headquarters, said this at a briefing for reporters on Monday.
"We will continue to discuss S-400-related issues with Turkey, both in bilateral contacts and in NATO. We will continue to work together in NATO, charting the way forward," the American diplomat said.
"The US has been very clear about how it looks at Turkey's purchase of S-400," Jones recalled. - "We oppose the purchase of S-400." "Large Russian weapons systems like S-400 have no place in NATO," said the acting US permanent representative to NATO. According to him, Ankara's purchase of S-400 complexes "also runs counter to the commitments to give up dependence on Russian weapons systems, which [in due time] the NATO allies made to each other."
At the same time, Jones called Turkey a "very valuable ally" of the US in NATO and stressed that it is a major contributor to the alliance's operations.
Russia and Turkey signed a contract for Moscow to supply Ankara with S-400 SAMs in 2017. Turkey was the first NATO country to purchase these systems from Russia. Ankara's decision caused a sharp negative reaction from the United States and the alliance as a whole. The United States has not stopped trying to get Turkey to give up its Russian SAMs. Due to the fact that Turkey is not yielding to pressure and does not get rid of S-400, Washington has excluded Ankara from the American program for the production of fifth-generation fighter-bombers F-35. In addition, the US has long threatened Turkey for the purchase of S-400 with a number of unilateral sanctions, but was in no hurry to take these steps because it 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, the previous US administration imposed sanctions on Turkey for its purchase of S-400.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Sergey Malgavko / TASS
Based on materials from TASS