Russia-Turkey deal irks the U.S.
Moscow delivers missile defense parts to the NATO nation despite Washington’s warnings.
ANKARA, Turkey — The first shipment of a Russian missile defense system has arrived in Turkey, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Friday, moving the country closer to possible U.S. sanctions and a new standoff with Washington.
A Defense Ministry statement said that “the first group of equipment” for the S-400 air defense systems had reached the Murted air base near the capital, Ankara. The delivery of parts of the system will continue in the coming days, and authorities will decide “how it will be used” once the system is made operational, Turkey’s defense industry authority said in a statement.
The U.S. has strongly urged NATO member Turkey to pull back from the deal — reportedly worth more than $2 billion — warning the country that it would face economic sanctions if it goes ahead with the purchase. It has also said Turkey would be excluded from a program to produce hightech F-35 fighter jets.
Although President Trump expressed sympathy toward Turkey’s decision to purchase the Russian system during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting in Japan, Washington has repeatedly said that the Russian system is incompatible with NATO systems and is a threat to the F-35.
Sanctions would mark a new low in already-tense relations between Turkey and the U.S. Last year, the United States imposed sanctions on Turkey over its detention of an American pastor, triggering a Turkish currency crisis.
The purchase of Russian military hardware — the first such deal between Russia and a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member — has also raised concerns that Turkey is drifting closer to Moscow’s sphere of influence.
Turkey has refused to bow to U.S. pressure, saying that choosing which defense equipment to buy is a matter of national sovereignty.
“We’ve always said regarding the S-400s that it’s an agreement that has been finalized and the process continues to progress,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters. “There’s no problem and the process will continue in a healthy way going forward.”
In Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “Everything is going strictly in compliance with the agreements and contracts signed.” He would not comment on a time frame for the delivery but said both parties were committed to complying with the contract.
Turkish TV on Friday showed video of a Russian plane at Murted and later showed a second plane landing at the air base. NTV reported that three planes had arrived in all.
Turkish media reports have said Turkey is expected to take delivery of two S-400 batteries.
Turkey has said it was forced to buy the S-400s because the U.S. refused to supply the American-made Patriot systems to Turkey.
U.S. officials have since encouraged Turkey to buy the Patriot missile defense system instead of the S-400s. But Turkey says the offer does not meet its requirements, including possible future joint production.
The U.S. has already stopped training Turkish pilots on the F-35 and has given Ankara until the end of July to get its personnel out of the U.S.
Turkey maintains that it has fulfilled all of its financial obligations concerning the F-35 program and cannot be excluded from the project.
Turkey has refused to say where it intends to deploy the S-400.