Turkish Defense Ministry sources neither confirm nor deny S-400 report
Turkish Defense Ministry sources have neither confirmed nor denied a recent report in Kathimerini that said Turkey and the US are planning to stockpile Russian-made S-400s, with the aim of lifting CAATSA sanctions and returning Turkey to the F-35 procurement program.
“It is necessary not to give value to the publications made by third countries with the aim of creating impressions on this subject and to approach it with caution,” the sources noted.
“Currently, there is no change in the stance of the two countries regarding the S-400 and F-35. We have always stated that it is not right for allies to impose restrictions or sanctions on each other and that this is inconsistent with the spirit of the [NATO] alliance,” the sources continued.
“Our expectation is that our allies will take decisions appropriate to the spirit of the alliance and the common security perspective and that all restrictions, covert and overt, will be removed,” the sources noted.
On Tuesday, in his address to the UN General Assembly in New York, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to confirm Turkey’s effort to get CAATSA sanctions lifted to pave the way for its acquisition of F-35 fighter jets from the United States.
In addition, in an interview last week his foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, referred to a quest for a “creative formula” on the issue.
