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In their joint press conference in Pentagon, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford have addressed both Turkey's purchase of S-400 air defense missile defense system from Russia and joint formation of a safe zone in Syria.
When asked about the possibility of Turkey to rejoin the F-35 program, Secretary of Defense Esper has stated the following:
"I have been very clear in both my public comments and privately with my Turkish counterpart: It is either the F-35 or the S-400. It is not both. It is not park one in the garage, and roll the other one out. It is one or the other.
"So we are where we are and it is regrettable. As I have said, Turkey has been a long-standing, a great partner and ally.
"I would hope that they would move back in our direction and really live up to what NATO agreed to many years ago, and that was to begin divesting of Soviet-era Russian equipment."
Dunford: We are seeking to strike a balance
Regarding a safe zone in northern Syria, which the U.S. and Turkey have agreed to establish, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dunford has said that Washington is seeking to strike a balance between "continuity" in the anti-ISIS campaign and Turkey's "legitimate concerns."
"We've also made agreements to immediately address some of the threats along the border between Turkey and Syria, removal of heavy weapons and those kind of things", he has said.
Dunford has noted the establishment of a joint operations center in Ankara, wherein he has said United State European Command, Central Command and the Turkish General Staff are continuing to coordinate efforts.
He has further said that joint patrols in northern Syria are "being worked out" at the center, but does not have a date for when they may commence.
Why does the US react against Turkey's purchase of S-400s?Ranking second after Russia in arms export in the world, the US has various reasons to react against Turkey's deal with Russia. One of these reasons is US reservations over the possibility that Russia will be a monopoly in global arms export. Moreover, speaking to defence.com website about the issue, defense experts have been warning that if Russia's S-400 air defense missile system and US's F-35 fighter jets are used together, Russia can learn about the weaknesses of the fighter jets. That being the case, since Turkey's possibility of purchasing S-400s from Russia came up, the US has been referring to "sanctions". Alexander Meşheyev, the Chair of the Rosoboronexport, the state organization in Russia for exporting military products, announced it on August 21, 2018 that the deal with Turkey foreseeing the delivery of S-400s will come into force in 2019. Making harsher and harcher statements since then, the US sent a warning of sanctions to Minister of National Defense on June 6. To most people in Turkey, the US warning was reminiscent of the "Johnson's letter." Lastly, speaking to the US daily Washington Post, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "The law requires that there be sanctions and I'm confident that we will comply with the law and President Trump will comply with the law." |
(PT/SD)
* Source: VoA, Reuters, Politico, AA
