‘US wrong to push us to drop Russian missiles’
Despite ‘wonderful’ meeting, Erdogan criticizes Trump in Washington
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Washington was not right to propose that Ankara get rid of the Russian S-400 missile defenses it purchased, calling it an infringement of sovereign rights, according to Turkish media.
In a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump urged Erdogan to abandon the S-400 systems that began arriving in Turkey in July despite threats of sanctions from Washington.
Asked after his meeting whether Turkey would consider not activating the S-400s, Erdogan told reporters Ankara cannot harm its relations with Russia. He also again held out the option of buying US Patriot defenses.
“We said, ‘We see the proposal to remove the S-400s completely while buying the Patriots as an infringement of our sovereign right and certainly do not find it right,’” he was quoted as saying by broadcasters.
“This is the most binding element: we have some strategic efforts with Russia,” Erdogan said, adding the Turkstream natural gas pipeline, which begins in Russia and runs through Turkey, will start delivering gas to Europe.
“I cannot abandon the S-400s because of Patriots now. If you are going to give us Patriots, give them,” he was quoted as saying.
Largely thanks to good relations between the two presidents, Turkey has so far avoided US sanctions that by law should be triggered by the S-400s. But the United States has banned sales of F-35 fighter jets to Ankara and removed it from a multinational program to produce the warplane.
Erdogan said that he saw a much more positive approach to the F-35 issue from Trump
After the much anticipated meeting at the White House to address a crisis in relations, Trump said he was “a great fan” of the Turkish leader and that they had a “productive” encounter.
But both leaders fell short of explaining in concrete terms how they would overcome the mounting differences they have on numerous issues, from Erdogan’s incursion in Syria against America’s Kurdish allies to Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.
“Turkey’s acquisition of sophisticated Russian military equipment, such as the S-400, creates some very serious challenges for us and we are talking about it constantly,” Trump told a joint news conference.
“We talked about it today, we’re talking about it in the future, hopefully we’ll be able to resolve that situation.”
Minutes after their news conference, the White House released a statement using firmer language than the two leaders, who boast of having a warm personal relationship while their governments are largely on icy terms.
Despite the tensions on policy issues, Trump gave a warm welcome to Erdogan. It was in sharp contrast to anger in the US Congress over Ankara’s offensive into Syria to drive out a Kurdish militia that has been Washington’s main partner in the fight against Islamic State.
“We’ve been friends for a long time, almost from Day 1. We understand each others’ country. We understand where we are coming from,” Trump told Erdogan as they sat next to each other in the Oval Office. “They’re highly respected in their country and in the region,” Trump said of Erdogan and his wife, Emine.
Bilateral relations hit a fresh low last month when Erdogan began his cross-border incursion against the Kurds.
Trump has come under intense pressure from his fellow Republicans for withdrawing US troops from the area and clearing the way for Turkey’s incursion. On Wednesday, Erdogan said Turkey was the best partner for the United States to help fight Islamic State.
“Turkey and the United States can work together to finish Islamic State and bring peace to Syria. The most reliable US partner in the region to do this is Turkey,” Erdogan said.
At a speech later in Washington, Erdogan said he asked Trump to cease support for the Kurdish YPG militia, who are seen as hostile by Ankara but form the backbone of the SDF, the main US partner in Syria fighting against Islamic State. He did not say how Trump responded.