Following the meeting between the US and Turkish presidents, Donald Trump announced that bilateral national security teams would start working on a solution to one of the main issues that has been spoiling the two countries’ relations in recent years – Ankara’s purchase of S-400 systems from Russia.
Spokesman for the Turkish president, Ibrahim Kalin, said that Turkish and American officials have started working on resolving the S-400 issue, which has been spoiling US-Turkish relations since December 2017, TRT Haber reported. Specifically, they will be evaluating the impact that the Russian air defence systems could have on the US-made F-35 jets, the aide added.
Kalin further said that the option of Turkey discarding the already acquired S-400s is “out of question”, but noted that the Russian system will not be integrated into the NATO defence grid – something that numerous experts have warned against or deemed practically impossible to do.
Possible Delay in Anti-Turkey Sanctions
US Senator and head of the Foreign Relations Committee Jim Risch has called on the Senate to put a motion to impose sanctions on Turkey on hold, claiming that there is a possibility that Ankara could change its stance on one of the issues troubling Washington – the purchase and use of Russian S-400 air defence systems.
“We think that there’s going to be movement relatively soon on the S-400s. As long as there is positive movement we ought to sit tight, because I think we’re probably going to want to evaluate our position somewhat if indeed we get the S-400s resolved”, Risch said.
It’s worth noting that although Congress has repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions over Ankara’s purchase of Russian weapons, the bill currently passing through the US legislature was introduced due to the Turkish military operation in Syria, which predominantly targeted US allies in the region – Kurdish militants. Risch’s fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham stated earlier that sanctions over the acquisition of S-400s could still come in the future, with Washington giving Ankara time to reconsider.
It’s worth noting that although Congress has repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions over Ankara’s purchase of Russian weapons, the bill currently passing through the US legislature was introduced due to the Turkish military operation in Syria, which predominantly targeted US allies in the region – Kurdish militants. Risch’s fellow Republican Senator Lindsey Graham stated earlier that sanctions over the acquisition of S-400s could still come in the future, with Washington giving Ankara time to reconsider.
Tense Meeting in White House
The issue of Russian S-400s in Turkey was raised among other matters during the meeting at the White House between President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 13 November. Both Risch and Graham were present at the discussion and engaged Erdogan on both the S-400s and the Kurds.
Risch stated that he personally warned Erdogan about the consequences of acquiring S-400s from Russia, specifically that it would prevent Turkey from getting its desired F-35 jets. The senator explained to the Turkish president that he was in a position to prevent the sale of the fifth-generation jet to Ankara and that he would do so unless Turkey concedes to the US demands.
“I’m not going to sign off on the F-35 so long as they have the S-400 missiles. I’ve been telling them that for about a year. I think they didn’t really believe us. I think he just wasn’t accepting that answer, but after [meeting at the White House] he clearly knows where we stand”, Risch said.
Global News 
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