Erdogan says Turkey will produce S-500s with Russia after S-400 missile deal
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said that Turkey and Russia will jointly produce S-500 defence systems after Ankara's controversial purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Moscow.
Turkey's push to buy the S-400s has further strained already tense relations with the United States, which has repeatedly warned Ankara of the risks, including sanctions, as a result of the purchase, AFP said.
US officials have called Turkey's plan to purchase the S-400 "deeply problematic", saying it would risk Ankara's partnership in the joint strike fighter F-35 programme because it would compromise the jets, which are made by Lockheed Martin, Reuters reported.
Still, Erdogan said in Istanbul: "There is absolutely no question of taking a step back from the S-400s purchase. That is a done deal."
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
He told an audience of young people asking questions: "There will be joint production of the S-500 after the S-400."
Ties between Nato allies Turkey and the US have frayed over multiple issues, including American support for a Syrian Kurdish militia viewed as terrorists by Ankara and the US failure to extradite a Muslim preacher whom Erdogan blames for a 2016 coup attempt.
Washington says the deal with Moscow is a threat to Western defence and in April suspended deliveries of the F-35 stealth fighter jet to Turkey in a bid to halt the purchase.
Turkish pilots are in the US receiving training on the F-35s. Turkey was expected to buy 100 of the jets, but the US may refuse to deliver them over Turkey's S-400 deal with Russia.
The chairmen and ranking members of the US Senate armed services and foreign relations committees last month wrote an op-ed in the New York Times saying the US was asking Turkey to choose between F-35s and S-400s.
"By the end of the year, Turkey will have either F-35 advanced fighter aircraft on its soil or a Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system. It will not have both," they wrote.
“Purchasing the S-400 would create an unacceptable risk because its radar system could enable the Russian military to figure out how the F-35 operates."
Still, Erdogan insisted that "sooner or later" Turkey would receive the F-35 jets.
"They [the US] are passing the ball around in the midfield now, showing some reluctance. But sooner or later, we will receive the F-35s. Not delivering them is not an option," Erdogan said.
He also said Turkey had conducted technical studies amid US concerns over the compatibility of the S-400s and the F-35s but found there were no issues.
Despite the threat of sanctions, Erdogan repeated that the S-400s were expected to be delivered in July, "but this could be brought forward," he added.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
