Ankara rejected US proposal to transfer Russian S-400 air defense system from Turkey to Ukraine
The United States proposed that Turkey send Ukraine the S-400 air defense system it purchased from Russia, but Ankara refused, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on May 7.
Washington has said that the S-400 system excludes Turkey from the modern Western F-35 fighter aircraft program, so it offered Ankara to transfer control of the system to the United States or another country, including Ukraine.
“The U.S. asked us to send the S-400s to Ukraine, and we said no," Cavusoglu said, adding that the proposal was "unacceptable as it sought to infringe on Turkish sovereignty."
Regarding the F-35 fighter jet program, the Turkish Foreign Minister said his country does not want to return to the program now, but would rather get back the money it had paid, since it has not received the aircraft. At the same time, Turkey wants to buy F-16 fighters and spare parts from the United States.
Earlier, Turkish officials said that Ankara bought the S-400 from Russia "for national security purposes" and "no other country has the right to interfere with this."
In 2017, when Turkey signed a contract with Russia to purchase the air defense system, U.S. officials opposed its deployment, arguing that the S-400 would be incompatible with NATO systems. Ankara rejected these concerns, stating that "the S-400 will not be integrated into NATO systems and do not pose a threat to the Alliance or its armaments."
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