Turkey no longer takes “informal promises” by the US to supply Patriots seriously, Altun said. Earlier, the Pentagon said it had offered Ankara to lift sanctions and return it to the F-35 program in exchange for deliveries of C-400s to Ukraine
The idea of supplying Ukraine from Turkey with anti-aircraft missile systems purchased from Russia The S-400 is unrealistic, Fahrettin Altun, head of public affairs at the Turkish presidential administration, said in a Wall Street Journal article.
“While today this idea is completely unrealistic, it provides an opportunity to discuss the problems that Turkey had with the West in recent years,»,— he noted.
Altun recalled that before purchasing the S-400, Ankara repeatedly turned to Washington.
“Because the threats faced by Turkey did not magically disappear after the US refusal, Ankara had to look for an alternative. Former President Donald Trump acknowledged this while in office. Therefore, at that time, the possibility of Turkey buying the Patriot was ruled out, — he said.
According to Altun, Turkey also “still remembers” how its allies removed Patriot batteries from the country “during one of the most tense periods in Turkey's Russian relations».
“In the light of this experience, the Turkish people no longer take seriously any unofficial promises from the West to supply Patriot. Turkey's illegal exclusion from the F-35 program for political reasons also prevents Turkey from taking the metaphorical carrot of “re-attachment” seriously. countries to the program»,— he said.
On March 20, sources told Reuters that the United States was discussing with Turkey the possibility of sending S-400 systems to Ukraine, which Ankara had acquired from Moscow. According to the agency, it was just a discussion, there were no official proposals on this topic.
Later, information about such a discussion was confirmed by a representative of the Pentagon. According to him, in exchange, Washington offers Ankara a return to the F-35 program and the lifting of sanctions.
Russia and Turkey signed a contract for the S-400 in December 2017. The first deliveries began in July 2019.
The United States opposed Turkey's decision and excluded it from the F-35 supply program. The Pentagon feared that as a result of the interaction of the S-400 with the latest American fighters in the Turkish army, Russia could receive the data necessary to counter the F-35.
In December 2020, due to the purchase of the C-400, the United States also introduced sanctions against Turkey, prohibiting the issuance of licenses and export permits to the Turkish Defense Industry Authority (SSB), which concludes contracts for the purchase of military equipment.
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