US refutes Ankara’s weapons analogies

A US State Department spokesman has clearly rejected Ankara’s analogies between the S-400 surface-to-air missile systems it has purchased from Russia, with which it expanded its relationship with Moscow, and the Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile system that Greece has stored on the island of Crete. 

More specifically, it made the clear distinction that the presence of the S-300 on Crete does not fall under the USA’s sanctions regime under the 2017 Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the State Department has said.

“The acquisition of S-300 by Greece took place in the 1990s, decades before the adoption of the CAATSA law. Section 231 of CAATSA sanctions only significant transactions that occurred on or after August 2, 2017,” a State Department spokesperson said in response to a question from the Hellas Journal website.

“We continue to encourage all NATO allies to ensure full interoperability within the Alliance,” the spokesperson said.

Turkey claims the Crete S-300 locked on to Turkish jets carrying out a reconnaissance mission in international airspace on August 23. Greece denies the accusations.

Regarding Turkey’s claim, the State Department official said Washington is aware of these reports, stressing that the US continues to encourage NATO allies Greece and Turkey to work together to maintain peace and security in the region and to resolve disputes through diplomacy. “We call on all parties,” the official said, “to avoid rhetoric and actions that could further increase tensions.”

The Crete S-300 system was originally purchased by Cyprus in 1997, triggering a threat response from Turkey. Under pressure from Britain and NATO, Cyprus agreed to store it on the southern Greek island. 

Meanwhile, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who flew in an F-16 fighter jet over the northern Aegean on Friday, doubled down on Ankara’s claims that the Greek S-300 locked on to Turkish warplanes. 

“We have always responded to this impertinence of Greece and we will continue to do so,” he said.

Slamming Greece’s behavior as “extremely hostile and wrong,” he called upon NATO to take an “objective” stance.

“NATO and third countries should also see Greece’s actions. We have warned all of our allies over Greece. We expect them to be objective. They should know that Greece’s actions and rhetoric are not in line with friendship or alliance,” he said.