Washington denounces Turkey for weapon test; warns about serious consequences

WASHINGTON, DC, USA (North Press) – On Friday, the US administration slammed Turkey for taking a new step towards fielding the Russian-made S-400 air defense system. The US complaint marked a deepening rift that threatens the future of a security relationship that has been central to the NATO military alliance for seven decades.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that Turkey has tested its Russian-made S-400 systems despite objections from the US, saying Ankara does not need Washington’s permission to evaluate the performance of its military hardware.

“It is true,” Erdogan said in televised comments on Friday, referring to earlier media reports about Ankara’s successful test of the S-400 system. “These tests have been done and are being done.”

“The United States’ stance absolutely does not concern us. If we are not going to test these capabilities at our disposal, then what are we going to do?” asked Erdogan. “We aren’t going to ask America for permission.”

“The U.S. Department of Defense condemns in the strongest possible terms Turkey’s October 16 test of the S-400 air defense system,” the top Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said in a statement.

He added, “We have been clear and unwavering in our position: an operational S-400 system is not consistent with Turkey’s commitments as a U.S. and NATO ally.”

The State Department separately called Turkey’s test unacceptable and a “clear step in the wrong direction.”

“The United States has been clear on our expectation that the S-400 system should not be operationalized,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. “We have also been clear on the potential serious consequences for our security relationship if Turkey activates the system.”

On this Turkish move, and its boldness in conducting tests on American aircraft, Turkish political analyst Ibrahim Agha Oglu explained to North Press that “Turkey’s testing of S-400 systems on American aircraft is a turning point in relations between Ankara and Washington.”

“In addition to revealing the effectiveness of both the Russian system and the American F-35 plane, Ankara is forced to obtain other alternatives if it does not obtain this American plane,” he explained, adding that Turkey blamed its allies who left it with no other option but to buy the Russian system after the US refused to sell the country the US-made Patriot missile system.

The US suspended Turkish participation in the F-35 fighter program in July 2019 in response to Ankara’s purchase of the S-400 system from Russia.

Aghaoglu explained that “Washington suspended the delivery of the F-35 plane to Turkey, but Ankara seeks to balance the S-400 and F35 planes as a partner in the project of producing this plane,” adding that Turkey also seeks to acquire the Patriot system, and is therefore trying to balance relations between Washington and Moscow carefully.

Observers believe that Turkey is challenging the US, which will affect Turkish internal politics, especially as the Turkish public no longer accepts the provocations between Turkey and its neighbors because of their negative reflections on the Turkish economic situation. This comes amid voices demanding Erdogan care about internal affairs instead of establishing alliances with parties at the expense of others.

On a technical level, the U.S. government’s concern is that the S-400 could be used by Turkey to gather data on the capabilities of the American-made F-35 stealth fighter jet, and that the information could end up in Russian hands. More broadly, Washington sees this weapon purchase as a slap at NATO and a violation of allies’ commitment to move away from Russian defense equipment.

“We are determined. We will continue on our path,” Erdogan said on Friday.

Turkey has also argued that the S-400 is one of the best available systems and says the deal with Russia involves joint production and technology transfers that meet its long-term goals of defense self-sufficiency.

The United States says talks on a potential Patriot deal failed over Turkey’s insistence on technology transfer rights that would have allowed it eventually to make the missiles themselves. This ran against US manufacturers’ propriety interests in addition to any national security concerns.

The dispute has created unease between allies at a time of heightened US tensions with Russia. Turkey’s rapprochement with Russia and its decision to buy the Russian system also coincides with growing Turkish mistrust of the US over its policies in Syria.

Turkey has been angered by US support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which it claims is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish political party which has been engaged in an armed struggle with the Turkish state for decades.

On July 25, 2019, Turkey received the first batch of the Russian S-400 defense system, despite U.S. threats to impose economic sanctions on Ankara.

REPORTING BY: MUHAMMED KHIER AHMED